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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629493">Acheros</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lograves/pseuds/Lograves'>Lograves</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Acerbumdulce [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Attempt at Humor, Beauxbatons, Gryffindor, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, I Tried, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Multi, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Other, POV Third Person, Quidditch, Ravenclaw, Remus Lupin &amp; Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Sirius Black &amp; James Potter Friendship, Sirius Black &amp; Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Slow Burn, Slytherin, Werewolf Remus Lupin, Young Remus Lupin, Young Sirius Black, i wrote this for myself basically</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:07:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>122,094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629493</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lograves/pseuds/Lograves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie could admit that, maybe punching Moreau wasn't her smartest idea. Even if it was well deserved. <br/>But now, because of one lousy punch, Charlie was being "advised" to transfer to Hogwarts. <br/>She figured once she did, her life would be simpler; after all her cousin Henry was there to help. <br/>But of course, Charlie never did have a way with luck. So now, not only did she have to put up with her cousin's crazy ideas but to endure the annoyance that was Sirius Black.<br/>Oh, and I guess she'd have to survive the war aswell.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter &amp; Severus Snape, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black &amp; James Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; Peter Pettigrew &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Acerbumdulce [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857829</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+friend+who+endured+so+much+ranting+and+spamming.">My friend who endured so much ranting and spamming.</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: Mlle- short for Mademoiselle.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Looking back, Charlie could admit punching Alphonsine Moreau wasn't her brightest idea, but it was without a doubt, one of the happiest moments of her life. After all, who doesn't like to punch the person who's been tormenting them since 1st year?</p><p>Honestly, it was Moreau's own fault, Charlie thought, currently sitting on a chair, waiting for the Headmistress to call her. Maybe if Moreau hadn't teased Pauline so much, she wouldn't have a broken nose.</p><p>Charlie snickered at the thought. The expression of utter horror on Moreau's face after she realised her nose would forever be a bit crooked was priceless (the moment was even better with Luana laughing so hard she almost pissed herself).</p><p>Suddenly, the door opened, and Charlie felt her stomach tighten. At the door, the headmistress, Madame Etienne Lunet, had the most annoyed expression Charlie ever saw (Even worse then that one time Charlie and Luana accidentally exploded a toilet in the bathroom on the 3rd floor) . Inside, Charlie could peak at Alphonsine, at her parents. Moreau appeared to still be sniffling.</p><p>With Charlie behind her, Madame Lunet entered again, and gestured to a chair parallel to the occupied ones, a silent command for Charlie to sit.</p><p>"Mlle. Ellis, is it true that you punched Mlle. Moreau?" At that Moreau sniffled some more, most likely to add even more drama, Charlie thought.</p><p>"Yes, Madame, I did" Madame Lunet's lips thinned and Alphonsine Moreau sniffled even louder, getting a pet on her back from her mother.</p><p>"And, may I ask, why?"</p><p>"Well because she deserved it!" Charlie saw Madame Lunet's eye twitch and heard Monsieur. Moreau scoff.</p><p>"Mlle. Ellis-" Madame Lunet started, but Charlie interrupted.</p><p>"Well its true Madame! She started to make fun of Pauline-Again, may I add- and just because 'Line's too nice to say something, doesn't mean I won't. I'll admit it Madame, hitting her was maybe a bit too much, but maybe now she knows not to be rude to other's" Charlie crossed her arms stubbornly. After all, what was she supposed to do? Just sit still while this idiot tormented one of her best friends?</p><p>Monsieur Moreau scoffed even higher and stood so fast he knocked out his chair.</p><p>"This is unacceptable! My daughter is innocent! This unhinged child just attacked her! I won't stand for it! I won't! I want this girl expelled; I want her out of the country even!" Monsieur Moreau kept babbling about what he wanted for a good five minutes. At some point all his words sounded mixed together as he kept talking in a faster pace. His face seemed to get redder by each word. Charlie now knew where Moreau got her dramatics from, as Monsieur Moreau kept pointing accusingly at Charlie while he yelled.</p><p>It took about twenty minutes to get Monsieur Moreau's face to it's normal colour, and even longer for him and his wife to floo home, but not before he threaten to owl the Minister of Magic about the situation.</p><p>Madame Lunet sighed and directed Moreau to the door, telling her to go to the Hospital wing to mend her nose. Charlie had no idea why she hasn't gone there before. But then again, accusing Charlie of attempted murder was more convincing with Moreau still bleeding and sniffling.</p><p>"I hope you're happy Mlle. Ellis, nothing good will come from this. The Moreau's are very influential and happen to donate a great amount of money to this school." Madame Lunet said, looking very tired and annoyed.</p><p>Charlie averted her eyes guilty. Madame Lunet was always so kind to her and Charlie hated the thought of disappoint her. She was, after all, an old friend of her grandmother, who Charlie loved a lot.</p><p>"So, I'm being expelled? For punching her?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"No, of course not, that would be ridiculous." Madame Lunet scoffed. "You will serve a month's detention"</p><p>"A month?!" Charlie yelled.</p><p>"Yes well, I can't do better, Mlle. Ellis. Monsieur Moreau will not be please if you simply serve a few hours. Still, I'm sure Monsieur Moreau will still find something to complain about." Madame Lunet shook her head.</p><p>"Well, what about Moreau's punishment? She's been tormenting us since the 1st year, Madame! She's foul! She's lucky I didn't do worse." Charlie complained.</p><p>"Well, if that was the case, you should have reported her, Mlle. Ellis, that's how we deal with things here at Beauxbâtons, not by hitting people."</p><p>"That's not fair, Madame! Are you telling me she's going to walk out of this? Like it wasn't partly her fault? That's bullshit!" Charlie yelled angrily. She couldn't believe it! The amount of times this girl made Pauline cry, and now nothing will happen to her?</p><p>"Mlle. Ellis!" Madame Lunet yelled. They stared at each other for a while, both breathing heavily, until Madame Lunet sighed and stroked her temple with her manicured fingers.</p><p>"Mlle. Ellis, you have to understand, going after Mlle. Moreau isn't very smart. Her father has an important job in the ministry, her family is heavily involved with the politics of the country and, as I said before, they donate a lot of money to this school. I'm sorry Mlle. Ellis, but I can't punish Mlle. Moreau only based on your word." Madame Lunet said, looking even more tired than before.</p><p>Charlie scoffed and adverted her eyes. Whenever she got too frustrated, she cried, and she didn't want Madame Lunet to see her cry, even if in anger.</p><p>There was a long silence while Madame Lunet's breathing returned to normal.</p><p>"You may leave now, Mlle. Ellis. Return to your dorm. Tomorrow you will be informed where you will serve your detentions." With that, Charlie rapidly got up and left. She didn't even acknowledge her best friends sitting outside the Headmistress office, she simply kept her rapid pace.</p><p>Charlie couldn't believe this. She could still see Moreau's sneering face, looking at Pauline like she was trash on the bottom of her shoe, making fun of her freckles, of her nose, of her choice of friends... People like Alphonsine Moreau, who thought they owned the world just because Daddy could pay people to quiet down, made her sick to her stomach. Right now, Charlie really wish she would have broken more than her nose.</p><p>"Been expelled yet, Roosbif?" Charlie stopped after hearing the sneering voice. The voice belonged to Manon Goubeaux, Moreau's best friend. Next to her, Violette Melancon was smiling. " Maybe now you can go and sell eel's pie with your muggle daddy" They both laughed.</p><p>Charlie walked to them and raise her hand. Goubeaux eyes widen while Melancon shriek and hid behind her. However, before Charlie could strike Goubeaux, a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her away from the girls. It was Luana, who was now pushing Charlie away from the laughing girls.</p><p>"I love beating up people as much as the next person, and as much as I'd love to see those two cry like little babies, Pauline's already stressed enough. C'mon" Luana said, as she wrapped her arms around Charlie and led her to the bathroom.</p><p>Charlie leaned against Luana's shoulder as she tried to calm down. Knowing Pauline like she did, she'd be blaming herself for what happened, and Charlie needed to appear calm to reassure Pauline that everything was fine. Plus, it helped that Luana was taller than her, it made all her hugs really comfy.</p><p>As they arrived at the bathroom's door, Luana parted from Charlie and gave her a long look. Charlie nodded and sighed.</p><p>The bathroom was empty except for Pauline, who quite frankly, looked like a mess. Her red hair, which normally was smooth and neat, was wild, a sign Pauline spent the last half an hour pulling it. Her blue eyes were blood shot and her lips were quivering. When Pauline saw Charlie, she ran to her and gave her the most suffocating hug Charlie ever experienced.</p><p>Charlie felt a bit awkward as Pauline cried on her shoulder. Even after two years of friendship, Charlie was still unsure on how to deal with this side of Pauline. She decided to simply embrace her and pat her back.</p><p>"I'm so sorry! It's my fault, I should have said something, or report it." Pauline said, breaking apart from Charlie.</p><p>"Did you get expelled?" Pauline took a big breath, as if to prepare herself for a big blow, that she clearly wasn't ready to take, since her lip's quivering seemed more prominent.</p><p>Charlie smiled "No Pauline, I wasn't. I'll just serve some detentions, it's fine. And it isn't your fault either, that brat had it coming since the first day we met her."</p><p>Pauline laughed, her eyes shining brighter now.</p><p>"See? I told you!" Luana said. She reappeared from behind Charlie and threw her arms around each girl's shoulder's. She turned her gaze up and sighed dramatically. "Oh, how I wished I got to see Moreau's dad balling his eyes out, claiming his daughter was forever disfigured!"</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes affectionally at Luana and Charlie laughed.</p><p>"Unfortunately, he only monologued for a while and claimed I tried to murder Moreau."</p><p>Luana snorted, letting her arms drop.</p><p>"Oh please! If we wanted to kill her, he wouldn't find her body afterwards" Luana said.</p><p>"Sure, Lu, sure. How about you try and finish your homework before you go killing people, eh?" Pauline said, gathering her things.</p><p> </p><p>"You never let me have fun" Luana pouted.</p><p>       	                                                                                   ***</p><p> </p><p>Charlie should have known that any happiness she had in Beauxbâtons was always short-lived. Honestly, war or not, she couldn't understand her parent's decision to have enrolled her here.</p><p>Charlie was reading a letter her cousin Henry wrote, when her family owl dropped a letter so thick, it knocked Luana's glass off the table. Even the nymphs stopped singing to glare at them.</p><p>The letter was, of course, from her mother, who was very pissed to have Marius Moreau write to her about Charlie's actions. Apparently, she spoke with Madame Lunet, and they believe a transfer would be best. Her mother then went on about how she'd contact Hogwarts so Charlie could enrol next year.</p><p>Charlie guessed that wouldn't be too hard, after all, she was British. She only came to this horrible school to begin with because her mother wanted her too. Charlie could never understand why exactly. Every time she asked, her mother would go off on a rant about Grandma Charlotte, and how she wanted their family to stay connected to her French roots. Other times, Charlie's mum would blame it on the war.</p><p>Still, leaving Beauxbatons didn't feel as good as Charlie thought. She had to leave behind her two best friends.</p><p>Charlie could already imagine all the types of fun Luana would get into without her, and Pauline finding someone else to show her muggle movies and music.</p><p>Charlie closed her letter and her eyes. She didn't want to get emotional in the Dining chamber, where everyone could see.</p><p>"Charlie, are you okay?" She could hear Pauline ask.</p><p>"Uhh yeah" Charlie said, thinking of an excuse to leave. "I just got to...poop real bad you know"</p><p>"You're crying, dude" Luana pointed out. Charlie sniffled as she gathered her things.</p><p>"It's a really intense poop. I'll see you guys later" Charlie sprinted as fast as she could without drawing attention from others. She kept sprinting and didn't even stop when she accidentally stepped on some tabby cat's tail. She only stopped when she entered her dorm. It was already June and it was sunny outside, so Charlie wasn't surprised to see the dorm empty.</p><p>Charlie sat on her bed, and with tears freely leaking out she decided to finish her mother's letter.</p><p>It wasn't that interesting. Her mother wrote her a pretty boring rant on consequences of your actions, then complained that, since Charlie was now going to have to attend Hogwarts, that Anne wanted to go as well, instead of attending Beauxbatons as planned. </p><p>By the last page, her mother seemed to be calmer, and wrote about the ordinary letter stuff: Her work, her Father's work, how Aunt Beatrice almost ruined another family dinner with the Armfield's and ended the letter by mentioning Grandmas Cecilia's new cat.</p><p>Hoping to cheer herself up, Charlie decided to finish her cousin Henry's letter.</p><p>The only good thing that might come out of this, Charlie thought, is that at least she'll have Henry at Hogwarts. She was sure that, when he found out, she wouldn't hear the end of it on how Gryffindor is the best house and how he'll renounce her as family if she'll end up in any other house.</p><p>Henry's letter was quite simple but cheerful. He wrote her about his quidditch matches (and how some other house wrongfully stole the cup from Gryffindor), about turning some twat's nose into a cucumber and how he managed to avoid getting points taken off by a prefect in one of his nightly adventures, by snogging her.</p><p>Charlie heard the door open, and quickly wiped her face. She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment.</p><p>"Please tell me you didn't decide to shit in here" Luana said as she entered. From behind her, Charlie could see Pauline's hand whacking Luana in the head, before stepping around her.</p><p>"What's the matter, Charlie?" Pauline asked, while taking a seat next to Charlie. Luana remained standing, deciding to lean against Charlie's bedposts.</p><p>"Nothing, everything is fine. Honestly." Charlie lied, trying to send them a reassuring smile. If she was going to leave, she didn't want to her friends to feel obligated to always try to cheer her up and make 'memories for life' that just end up feeling forced.</p><p>Luana sighed. "You were always a shit liar, did you know?"</p><p>Pauline's lips thinned, and her eyes flashed to Luana with a warning.</p><p>"What Lu's trying to say, it's that you don't need to lie to us, nor feel force to tell us something you don't feel ready to tell. But I hope you know you can trust us".</p><p>"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Pauline. And also, that it's pointless to lie since we know when you do, so might as well tell us the truth." Pauline sent another pointed look to Luana.</p><p>Charlie normally loved watching her two best friends bicker at each other, but this time it left her with a weight on her chest. She knew she had to tell them, it wasn't fair.</p><p>"Well...I got a letter from my mum. Apparently, Moreau's dad wrote to her. She thinks it's best if I transfer." Charlie said simply, she could feel the shock coming from both her friends.</p><p>"Transfer? Transfer where?!" Luana yelled, outraged.</p><p>"Well where else? To Hogwarts, it's not like Drumstang is just going to let me enrol, now is it." Charlie said dryly.</p><p>Luana scoffed and paced the room, muttering to herself. However, Charlie's attention wasn't on her.</p><p>Pauline had been looking at the ground since Charlie spoke.</p><p>"Line?" Charlie tried.</p><p>"It's my fault. I should have dealt with Moreau on my own. And now you're leaving, and that pute gets to look all smug about it". Pauline said, still looking at the ground, but her eyes were shinning with tears. By now Luana had stopped pacing and settled on the ground in front of the girls.</p><p>"Don't say that Line! It's not your fault. Moreau had it coming, and if it wasn't Charlie then it would have been me or someone else. We'll figure it out" Luana said while holding Pauline's hand.</p><p>Charlie snorted "Yea how? You going to hide under my bed in Hogwarts?"</p><p>"Of course not, I can't imagine that'll be enough space, with all the muggle magazines you stash under it." Luana said. "But we could also transfer!"</p><p>"No, you can't Luana. Hogwarts isn't like Beauxbatons, they only accept people born in the UK. Or Ireland."</p><p>"Yeah, but I'm half British! That's got to count for something!"</p><p>"It won't since you weren't born there, nor did your mum go to school there" Charlie said. Luana pouted and pumped Charlie's foot with her own.</p><p>"It was just a thought," Luana said moodily, while looking at Pauline, who was still staring at the floor with wide eyes.</p><p>"And it was a nice one, Lu. It was just, you know, impossible."</p><p>"It's still worth a shot!" Said Pauline suddenly, her head snapping from the floor. Her tears had cleared up and her eyes were wide and exited.</p><p>"Line-"</p><p>"No! C'mon think about it! I-"</p><p>"I am! Even if Luana gets in with a miracle, how will you? Both your parents are French."</p><p>"Yes, but I got that aunt, you know the one that sends me those horrid rock cakes for my birthday? She married a British man, a wizard one! Every time I meet him, he always goes on and on about how important his job is, and how he's close friends with the British Minister of Magic! Honestly, he never shuts up, its quite annoying." Pauline sighed "But if I write to my aunt, and get all mopey about it, I'm sure she can force my uncle to put in a good word for me and Lu! I mean, I've seen that man eat one of my Aunt's cooking and tell her he loves it! Talking to the Minister about this will be a piece of cake after that!"</p><p>Charlie sighed, she could see it was useless to try and talk her friends out of their ridiculous plan. So, she simply nodded (which let to her friends celebrating by jumping on top of her) and laughed at their happiness. She was sure it wouldn't work, but she didn't want to bring them down.</p><p>"Honestly, I'm just sad I get to leave so unceremoniously. I can already feel how smug Moreau is going to get after this. She'll be totally untouchable" Charlie ranted, huffing a bit.</p><p>Pauline frowned in agreement and returned to her sitting position. Luana also got up from Charlie (Thankfully. Charlie felt like she couldn't breathe any longer) but remained standing. She was sporting a big grin on her face, her brown eyes shining in a way that Charlie immediately knew some horrible idea that would actually get them expelled was coming.</p><p>"Why, wouldn't you know it, I think I know the perfect way to correct that." Luana's grin widen.</p><p>Both Charlie and Pauline exchanged looks, although it was clear that, whatever Luana's crazy plan was, Charlie was already on board.</p><p>"How?" Charlie asked, a smirk growing on her face.</p><p>"Alright, so here's what I'm thinking..."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 1- 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑚𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Honestly mum, don't you think this is a bit too much?" Charlie asked, while looking at their attic. Ever since Charlie was a little girl, that attic was always a mess. Her mum said every summer that she'd clean it, but something always came up.</p>
<p>Charlie's mum gave her a deadpan look. Even in the low light, Charlie could see her mother's green eyes sending her a glare.</p>
<p>"You punched a girl. Not just any girl, may I add, you just had to go and punch a girl with rich powerful parents." Charlie's mum reprehended. Charlie, in turn, rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>"Never going to let that go, are you?" Catherine's lips thinned.</p>
<p>"We had to transfer you, Charlotte, did you really think you'd get scot free?"</p>
<p>"Well, you could have given me something smaller! I've been washing dishes since I got here! And now this too? It's not fair mum! I didn't attack her on purpose! You went to that pretentious school, you know how some girls are" Charlie ranted, crossing her arms. All she did this summer was chores and chores. She barely got to see her cousins.</p>
<p>Charlie's mum sighed and sat down on what appeared to be a dusty box filled with books. Charlie gave her mother a long look.</p>
<p>Catherine Ellis was wearing her most professional working clothes, her blond hair strictly pinned into a bun. Charlie missed the way her mother used to dress when she was little; with pastel coloured jumpers and mom jeans. Her hair was always down, and her green eyes shined brighter than now. Ever since the war started that Charlie's mum looked tired and more worried. </p>
<p>"Yes, Charlotte, I do. But that's life. You think you won't find people like Moreau in Hogwarts? If anything, you were safer in Beauxbatons. There's no war in France."</p>
<p>Charlie sighed. In a way she knew her mother was right, but she didn't want to admit it.</p>
<p>"Yes, well, I have Henry at Hogwarts, I'm not totally alone. And I can handle whatever people say about our family" Said Charlie, a stubborn tone in her voice. Catherine rolled her eyes and huffed.</p>
<p>"Oh, I know. We all know how you'll handle the situation."</p>
<p>Charlie rolled her eyes "Yes mum, I punched a girl. Once! A girl who's been giving me hell since 1st year! When are you going to let this go? Merlin, I'm no longer in that school and the mere memory of Moreau still gets me grounded!" Charlie finished, breathing heavily.</p>
<p>Charlie's mother looked at her for a very long time, closed her eyes and took a big breath. With her eyes still closed, she started to speak.</p>
<p>"I know she was mean, Charlotte, but violence isn't the solution."</p>
<p>"I snapped, okay? What did you want me to do? Endure her comments about me and my friends forever?"</p>
<p>"You were supposed to be the bigger person, Charlotte. You should have gone to a professor or-" Charlie stumped her foot, irritated.</p>
<p>"It didn't work mum! You think we didn't try? No one could do much since everyone was sure she'd write home and say she's being punished for no reason!" Charlie's eyes started to fill with tears, but she wouldn't let them fall. This entire situation was so frustrating; remembering every time Moreau escaped her punishments. It was all so unfair that, even though Charlie left, Moreau would still get away with anything she'd do.</p>
<p>Catherine stayed silent for a very long time, simply looking around. She'd never really had this type of problems back in school. Even as a half-blood, her mother's maiden name still meant something in the French wizard community.</p>
<p>"Just... just promise me you'll be more careful in Hogwarts. Hogwarts isn't like Beauxbatons, Charlotte. England isn't safe right now, and with you and your sister both going...I'm just worried you'll lose your cool out there. You don't have a Madame Lunet who will protect you any longer." </p>
<p>"Mum, I'll be fine. Honestly, what do you think happens at that school? I'm sure it's all just...very boring." At that, Catherine huffed.</p>
<p>"If Hogwarts was that boring then your cousin wouldn't like it as much as he does." Catherine stopped, looking at Charlie's face. "You two are growing up too fast. You used to be such a cute baby. A well behaved one too." Catherine grumbled.</p>
<p>"That's not what you said a few years ago..." Charlie said, a smirking forming in her face. Catherine got up, dusting herself.</p>
<p>"Yes, well, you didn't punch anyone as a child." Catherine said, a small smile in her face. Charlie could now see some small wrinkles around her mum's eyes.</p>
<p>"I have to go to work" She continued. "Your aunt will stop by around lunch time. So please wake up your sister before that. And, when I get home, I better see this attic cleaned". Catherine smiled at her daughter, ignoring her complains as she stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Charlie's forehead.</p>
<p>Charlie looked around and sighed. She knew what she had to do.</p>
<p>After hearing the fireplace roar, Charlie went to the first floor. She went directly to her sister's room and knocked loudly, before entering.</p>
<p>Anne's room was cleaned, as usual. Charlie sometimes wondered if Anne had been switched at birth or something similar. How could someone related to Charlie be this organized?</p>
<p>The room itself, was simple, nothing like Charlie's. While Charlie's room was painted with a pastel blue, Anne's was yet to be painted, since their mother liked to wait until they were 12 to paint it. Charlie also had a bigger collection of books (and was normally a bit messy), while Anne had more toys.</p>
<p>From the bed, Charlie heard her sister groan.</p>
<p>"What?" She rasped out, her face still covered with hair. Charlie jumped in her sister's bed, forcing her to sit on it. Anne glared at her sister, brown eyes shining with annoyance.</p>
<p>"Mum said you got to get up. Aunt Beatrice is stopping by to take us to Diagon Alley.." Charlie trailed, seeing her sister's excited face "..But first we have to clean the attic. Mum's orders".</p>
<p>Anne grinned, getting up from her bed and running upstairs. Charlie smiled, thinking how nice it was to have a younger sibling.</p>
<p>                                                                                   +++</p>
<p>"Merlin's Beard! Anne, if you're not dressed already, I'll just lock you in the house!" Charlie yelled from the couch. She heard her sister yell something from the first floor, but Charlie didn't pay much attention.</p>
<p>Their aunt Beatrice was coming to pick them up any minute now, and Anne was probably still deciding what bloody dress to wear. Which, in Charlie's opinion, is a useless way to waste time, since she knows Anne will get cold anyway and will beg Charlie to borrow her jacker, so then it's Charlie who's cold. Charlie huffed in annoyance.</p>
<p>Charlie heard the loud noise of Aunt Beatrice's car ( an old car Aunt Beatrice treasured for some reason) and after a minute, she heard the door bell to off in a nonstop ring. Charlie grinned, she only knew one person that would be this annoying (Well, she knew two, actually, but Luana was still in Portugal).</p>
<p>Charlie ran to the door and opened it . She could see her Aunt's car still running, but mostly she was focused on how tall Henry got. Charlie could also notice how Henry's hair got longer, looking more like a mop of curls then ever. Still, he wore an easy grin and there was a familiar tingle in his hazel eyes.</p>
<p>"My goodness!" Said Charlie. " Is this Henry Ellis I see? Awake before noon? And actually dressed? Impossible."</p>
<p>Henry rolled his eyes and entered the house.</p>
<p>"I forgot how annoying you could be. It's like France kept all your good jokes or somethin'." Henry said, looking around.</p>
<p>"Like you would know what a good joke is."</p>
<p>"Hey! I know plenty good jokes! Your face, for starts-" Charlie interrupted Henry by punching him in the arm. Henry didn't seem to mind much.</p>
<p>"Shut up, you're one to talk"</p>
<p>Henry snorted. "Never got complains about it before." He smirked to a disgusted Charlie and turned to the stairs.</p>
<p>"Annie! You've got one minute to come down or I'll make sure to embarrass you in Diagon Alley!" He yelled. Anne came racing out, still lacing one of her shoes.</p>
<p>"I'm here! Just don't do anything stupid" She said, already out the door. Henry hummed, clearly disappointed.</p>
<p>"Sad, I was looking forward to tell everyone about that one time she pulled her knickers down in a middle of a store and tried to pee on the floor" Henry said, getting ready to close the door.</p>
<p>"I was 2!" Yelled back Anne.</p>
<p>The ride to The Leaky cauldron was filled with banter, mostly between Henry and Aunt Beatrice.</p>
<p>"...Yeah, it was kind of funny. Blue hair really suited him" Henry finished his story. Charlie felt a bit bad for not paying attention, but she was sure her cousin would have no problem in repeating it.</p>
<p>"How come I didn't get a letter about this?" Aunt Beatrice asked. Henry simply grinned while Anne tried to hide her grin. Aunt Beatrice threw Henry a glare, but Charlie knew she could never be truly mad at him.</p>
<p>"If it makes you feel any better, he transformed all my trousers to skirts on my birthday" Henry said, his grin tripling in size when he saw his mother crack a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Boys" she simply said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After having lunch at The Leaky Cauldron (Aunt Beatrice seemed fascinated by the menu), they all headed to Diagon Alley. Charlie always loved the happy feeling Diagon Alley gave her, and she could see she wasn't the only one.</p>
<p>Anne was bouncing on her heels, explaining everything to Aunt Beatrice in a very fast tone. Charlie found it cute that, even if it was Aunt Beatrice's 5th visit to Diagon Alley, she still acted as if she was seeing it for the first time.</p>
<p>They made the usual stops: Gringotts so Aunt Beatrice could exchange her muggle money while Charlie made a quick trip to her mother's vault (Henry insisted on coming for the ride); Flourish and Blotts for their books (Aunt Beatrice accidentally got lost while searching for the sports isle), Quality Quidditch Supplies when Henry complained he needed new gloves ( Charlie had to drag him away when he saw the new broom they had on display); and finally Madam Malkin's for new robes.</p>
<p>After a few more stops to buy everything Anne needed for her first year, they found themselves in front of Ollivanders. Charlie could see the excitement on her little sister's face, especially since she's been begging for a wand since Charlie got hers.</p>
<p>"Alright, we're almost done! How about I go with Anne and you two head for the animal thingy"</p>
<p>"It's an owl emporioum, mum" Henry said, smiling.</p>
<p>"Yes, that. Have fun!" Aunt Beatrice said, pushing Anne into the store while grinning. It was hard to see who was more excited, Aunt Beatrice or Anne.</p>
<p>"Oh!" Anne said suddenly. "Buy me some food for Alfred please!" And just like that, Charlie was left alone with Henry.</p>
<p>Henry clicked his tongue, still looking at the door for Ollivanders.</p>
<p>"Cannot believe you let your sister name that cat Alfred." Alfred was a big, tabby cat that Charlie brought back from France. The second Anne saw the cat, she begged Charlie to have it. Truly, Charlie didn't really mind since she had no idea what to do with the cat anyway.</p>
<p>"Still better than Larry" Charlie grumbled.</p>
<p>"What is up with you two and weird animal names?" Henry asked, now directing them to Eeylops Owl Emporium.</p>
<p>"Hey! I resent that."</p>
<p>"I'm sure you're not the only one. Honestly, who names their owl Yaris?" Henry asked. Charlie rolled and eyes and looked around. By now, Charlie was sure Henry was lost, since he turned to the wrong street.</p>
<p>"Shut up, I was eleven. Where are we going?"</p>
<p>"Just taking a little detour."</p>
<p>They ended up going to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Henry immediately guided them to whatever trinket he wanted.</p>
<p>"Best if I don't buy these while with mum, her patience can only go so far." He said. "Plus, we have time. When I went to get my wand, mum ended up askin' Ollivander a million questions, so I'm sure they aren't leaving anything soon."</p>
<p>"Fine, just hurry up. That bloody cat only likes a certain type of food, it takes me forever to find it"</p>
<p>"No problem. Can I borrow some sickles? Don't have enough" Henry said. "Also, where did you get that cat? He doesn't really seem the type of cat you'd get for yourself."</p>
<p>Charlie grabbed her pounce and handed her cousin 5 galleons. She was sure he wanted some extra stuff and since she's helping to buy for them, Charlie's sure he won't used them on her. Henry smiled gratefully.</p>
<p>"I didn't get him for me, I just brought him home because I didn't know what to do with it" Charlie said.</p>
<p>"Where did you get it then?" Henry said off handed, while examining some dung bombs.</p>
<p>"I stole it from that twat who got me in trouble" Now that got Henry's attention. He was looking at Charlie with wide sparkling eyes, and a grin so large, Charlie was sure his face would be sore.</p>
<p>"Really?" Charlie grinned and nodded. Henry laughed.</p>
<p>"Brilliant! Wouldn't expect less from someone who's related to me."</p>
<p>"Thanks, but I can't take full credit. The idea was my best friend's, I just did it."</p>
<p>"Shhh" Henry said, while putting his hand in Charlie's face, and pushing her "You've already made me proud, don't take this away from me."</p>
<p>"Whatever." Charlie rolled her eyes, walking away. They stayed for more 10 minutes, before Henry finally decided on what to take. Charlie a took some luminous balloons and some fireworks she was sure Luana would love.</p>
<p>"C'mon we've got to hurry up" Henry said, sprinting to the Emporium "We've got that bloody dinner at 6 and I don't want to hear another speech from Grandma Cecilia"</p>
<p>After 15 minutes of searching, they finally found the food for Alfred, and some snacks for Yaris.</p>
<p>On their way back to Ollivanders', Henry gave Charlie a quick lesson of Hogwarts.</p>
<p>"There's 4 houses, but only one really matters. If you're not a Gryffindor than I'm just going to pretend I don't know you." Charlie rolled her eyes at her cousin and jabbed him in the ribs.</p>
<p>"Okay! Fine! Each house represents somethin' different. Gryffindor, the best by far, is for the brave" Henry puffed his chest in pride.</p>
<p>"So, the impulsive kids are all in one house? Merlin that must be tiring."</p>
<p>"Shut up. Then you have Hufflepuff which is somethin' about hard-work, I think. Ravenclaw is all the smart pants and Slytherin is supposedly the ambitions kids but mostly it's the evil kids"</p>
<p>"Great explanation Henry, very neutral".</p>
<p>"Well it's true! Wait until you get to school, you'll see." Henry paused. "I still can't believe you're going to Hogwarts. Seemed like yesterday that I was begging Aunt Cat to let you come. Still don't get how you convinced her to change."</p>
<p>Charlie huffed "Oh believe me, she's plenty mad about it. Just this morning she made me clean the attic!"</p>
<p>"Really? I'd pay to see that; you can barely clean your room."</p>
<p>"You're one to talk. Besides I didn't do it, I told Anne to do it."</p>
<p>"Still, could be worse. If I got expelled-"</p>
<p>"-Transferred by choice!-"</p>
<p>"-If I was expelled-" Henry continued, "Mum would probably kill me. I'm surprised Aunt Cat didn't actually kill you, she's normally so uptight about school."</p>
<p>"It's still early, she has all of August to try and murder me."</p>
<p>                                                                                    +++</p>
<p>Charlie looked at herself in the mirror, and she did not like what she saw.</p>
<p>She always hated dresses; it made her feel like she wasn't wearing anything. Plus, it didn't help that Harold Grace pulled her dress over her head when she was 6. She never forgot how embarrassing it was to her to have her entire class laugh at her.</p>
<p>Her mother knew Charlie didn't particularly liked dresses and yet still made her wear them whenever the Armfields came over for dinner. Honestly, they were her grandparents' friends, why must Charlie be the one punished here?</p>
<p>"Charlotte! Anne! Hurry up, we got to leave for your Grandparents' house!" Her mum yelled. Charlie rolled her eyes, evenings with Grandma Cecilia were always boring, even with Henry around.</p>
<p>While leaving her room, Charlie saw her sister exit her room as well. Her sister Anne was in an identical baby pink puffy dress like hers ( Charlie's mother always did love to make them wear matching outfits), but her hair was in two braids, unlike the fake curls Charlie was forced to endure.</p>
<p>Going down the stairs, Charlie took a great notice to how her parents were dressed. Her father was in a suit similar to the ones he wears to Law firm he works at, his dark brown hair was gelled back, and his black shoes were so clean, whenever they caught the reflection of the light, they shined.</p>
<p>Her mother was wearing a dress, not puffy like Charlie's but instead a very elegant green dress. Charlie remember some story about the dress being from her Grandma Auriane, who died just last year. Ever since that, that dress stopped being in the closet so much. Pairing the dress, her mum also wore some black heels and was trying to put some diamond earrings in her ears, no doubt a present for Charlie's dad.</p>
<p>Charlie honestly didn't know how her parents made their marriage work. First of all, there was the fact that both had such busy lives, they barely saw each other (much less their actual kids) , with her father being a lawyer at some firm (Charlie didn't really understood very well her father's job, but from the few times he talked about it, it was very hard) and her mother being in the Wizgamont, and on the department of Law enforcement in the ministry. There was also the big factor that her mum was a witch and her dad a muggle.</p>
<p>According to her mum, the two met during one of mum's cases that involved muggles. At the time her dad wasn't in his current firm and was still doing his pro bono (or at least that's what Charlie thought her mother said, it all sounded like gibberish to her) and by chance they both met. To be completely honest, Charlie isn't surprised her parent hit it off so well, both are very professional with a bit of a goofy side.</p>
<p>Apparently, that seemed to be enough for both, or more specifically for her dad, who apparently fainted when her mum came clean about being a witch. They still got married and they seem relatively happy, but for her Dad's sake, Charlie's mum makes the minimal magic around the house.</p>
<p>"Finally! there you two are. Now remember, big smiles when you see Grandmother Cecilia and grandfather Mark, and I don't want to hear one single word about the smell of the house, are we understood?" Catherine said, looking specifically at Charlie in the end. Apparently, last time they were there, no one enjoyed how Charlie pointed out that the house smelled like old people.</p>
<p>Only her aunt Beatrice and her cousin Henry seem to agree with her, but her grandparents never took Aunt Beatrice and Henry seriously anyway. Charlie is still surprised how they're still invited to family dinners but nonetheless is very thankful for it. Aunt Beatrice and Henry always make the night way funnier. She remembered the last time they all had dinner together.</p>
<p>Grandpa Mark had asked how the school year had been for Henry. At the question, Henry smirked and told a very detailed story of how he single handily blew up an entire bathroom (with some 'not entirely legal fireworks' which made Anne giggle like mad), which in turn made Aunt Beatrice groan and retell every single letter she got for inappropriate behaviour during that year ( "I mean seriously Henry, how many times do I have to tell you that cupboards are not that good of a place to snog some poor girl?"). Charlie was sure she never saw her grandparents scowl so much in one night.</p>
<p>It was no secret that they thought Aunt Beatrice wasn't fit to parent Henry. Their biggest argument about it was how she was too young, since she ended up getting pregnant at only 18. Another argument they used a lot was how Henry needed two parents, not just a mother. But after Henry yelled at them once about it, they stopped bringing it up.</p>
<p>After all, it was clear Henry would much rather be raised by only his mom, then to have to ever meet his deadbeat of a dad who left Aunt Beatrice the second he discovered she was pregnant. Henry's father is a touchy topic for both.</p>
<p>The car ride to Charlie's grandparents' house was a bit tedious in her opinion. Normally during the car ride, Charlie and Anne would normally play some games but that quickly changed when an explosion from their exploding snap game made Charlie's dad swerve on the road after being caught by surprised. So now, all they did was stare at the windows and look at scenery, while trying to silently communicate with their eyes.</p>
<p>Before Charlie knew, they arrived at their Grandparents house. Inside the Armfields were all there already.</p>
<p>The Armfields consisted, as Charlie always thought, of The Grandparents ( Amanda and Edward), The Sons ( Thomas and Sean), The Wives ( Margaret and Leyla) and The Children ( Helen, Amelia and Anthony on one side, and Richard and Marcus on the other) . Of all, Charlie liked better Amelia, who was easily the sweetest girl Charlie ever knew, and who also just so happened to have a big crush on Henry.</p>
<p>It wasn't even that hard to tell, truly. Whenever Amelia saw Henry, she would grin ear to ear and go a little pink. Thankfully for her, it seemed to be reciprocated, since every time Henry saw Amelia, Charlie would notice that he'd use this type of smirk he never does around anyone else. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but Charlie knew her cousin pretty well and could tell how he felt about someone or about something based on his smile.</p>
<p>While his posture stays relatively the same in any situation ( laid back and relaxed, though Charlie was sure it took Henry a lot of training to always keep the same posture no matter the situation), his smile and the glint in his eyes were the only thing that could really tell how he felt, and whenever Henry was with Amelia, he would have this very calming smirk and his eyes would soften.</p>
<p>After greeting every single one of the Armfields, the families went to sit at the table , to start eating. As usual, Aunt Beatrice and Henry were 'fashionable late' (as Aunt Beatrice called it) earning an eye roll from Grandma Cecilia and a scoff from Grandpa Mark.</p>
<p>With everyone finally gathered (and maybe because the flirting between Amelia and Henry was starting to become palpable), Charlie's mum cleared her throat.</p>
<p>"It's so nice to be all reunited once more. Firstly, I wanted to personally congratulate Helen on her engagement, I hope you and you future husband have a very happy life together" Charlie's mum paused, waiting patiently for the polite small applause to end. Charlie thought her mum really looked in her element, in between all this aristocracy. She guessed that the Wizgamont also dealt with their fair share of it.</p>
<p>"I also would like to share some great news. This year, both Charlotte and Anne will be attending the same broad school as Henry." Catherine smiled, this time a bit colder. Charlie saw her aunt Cecilia furrow her brow. Oh no.</p>
<p>"I thought Charlotte went to some prestigious boarding school in France? And wasn't Anne supposed to attend it as well?" Grandma Cecilia said, a sweet tone in her voice. Charlie wanted to roll her eyes, but she figured that it wasn't the best of time for it.</p>
<p>Catherine's lips thinned, her face displaying a false sense of calmness. Charlie hoped that, if she ever had in-laws, they wouldn't be like her paternal grandparents.</p>
<p>The Armfields looked at Charlie's mum expectantly. Charlie could hear her aunt Beatrice try (and fail) to cover her laugh into a cough. After a second, Charlie heard a faint thud and aunt Beatrice yelped, looking fiercely to in front of her to Charlie's dad, who was calmly looking at his wife.</p>
<p>"Yes, Charlotte did attend it; After all, it was a family tradition- However, it's so far, I just...couldn't bear to send both so far away. Plus, Henry's school seems to have an amazing curriculum and they wouldn't be so alone with their cousin there." Charlie's mum smiled, but her eyes held a glint, almost as if to challenge anyone to contradict her.</p>
<p>"It sure is, aunt Cat. The best school around" Henry said. "Can't wait to show the girls around." Henry smirked and winked at Anne, who was in front of him. Anne was slightly jumping in her chair, no doubt of excitement.</p>
<p>Charlie's mum threw a quick glance at Henry as if to warn him, but Henry didn't seem bothered. He just cackled a bit, which earn him a slight pat on his head from aunt Beatrice, who was fighting to hide her smile.</p>
<p>"Thank you for that beautiful speech, Catherine. I know I speak for everyone in this table when I say that we all wish the best for Anne and Charlotte in their new school and for a happy marriage to Helen. Now, without any interruptions, let's eat!" And just like that, Grandpa Mark sat down and started to chat with Mr. Armfield.</p>
<p>Charlie looked around. Everyone seemed to be already to engulfed in either eating (like Amelia's father Sean) or talking ( Charlie noted the very embarrassing small talk her mother was trying to do with Margaret Armfield). Everyone seemed to have already forgotten what her mother was so nervous to say. After all, Charlie's grandparents weren't the easiest to please.</p>
<p>Since they were muggles, Charlie's mum was always trying to find plausible excuses for why they couldn't visit her at her work, or why Charlie and Anne couldn't go to the boarding school aunt Beatrice went to as a young girl. Charlie could see how little her grandma truly believed any of those excuses, but never said anything- at least directly.</p>
<p>Thankfully, as of now Charlie's mum seemed in a better mood (maybe she'd be so happy she'd forget to make Charlie clean her room tomorrow) and Charlie could only hope that would last for the end of the summer. After all, Pauline and Luana were going to stay with Charlie for the last week of summer, and Charlie needed her mum in a really good mood for that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 2- 𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>5£ in 1973 is an equivalent to 53,15£ today.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Charlie looked up from her letter, to the clock again. Both Pauline and Luana were supposed to have arrived 10 minutes ago and Charlie was getting antsy. She wanted to pick them up from the airport herself, but since her parents were busy, she had no way of doing it. She just hoped that this was just some traffic problem and not something serious.</p><p>Shaking her head, Charlie turned her attention back to the letter. Henry had written to her from Greece, where he was going to spend a week with aunt Beatrice, her new boyfriend and his kids. It was very clear that Henry did not like the new boyfriend, claiming that something about him seemed off, and that his mother could do way better than some boring accountant.</p><p>Charlie sighed. Every time aunt Beatrice would start to date, Henry always had the same reaction. He always doubted whoever aunt Beatrice introduced, and did not made their lives any easier. Charlie always found it a bit funny to see, some poor bloke trying their best to get to know Henry, while Henry just glared at them.</p><p>Thankfully, their vacation would end in a few days, just in time for Hogwarts, therefore Henry couldn't really intimidate aunt Beatrice's new boyfriend (Who Henry simply called "blond twat"). That meant that Henry's time with Charlie's friends was very short, which Charlie thought it was a blessing from Merlin himself. She can already imagine how annoying Luana will be when she meets Henry, the only other person as annoying as her.</p><p>Charlie's excited ears picked up on a car engine, just outside her door. She ran to the door and pulled it open. Outside there was a cab, with two girls arguing over who was going to carry the bags inside. Charlie ran and embraced the closest one, who happened to be Pauline.</p><p>"Merlin, I missed you guys! How are you?" Pauline laughed, probably at the excited tone of Charlie. Her laugh was a bit restricted, as if Pauline was trying to hide the happiness of seeing Charlie again.</p><p>"Okay then, I guess I'll just go back home and leave you guys to it" She heard Luana say, somewhere behind her. Charlie blindly reached to where the voice came and managed to grasp Luana's hair to lightly tug them. She heard Luana yelped, but none the less she came closer.</p><p>"Watch the hair! Just because you can't have good hair doesn't mean you can get revenge on the best of us" Luana grumbled, getting close enough for Charlie to pull into the hug. Luana reciprocated, tugging them a bit too tight.</p><p>"God, I missed you idiots. No one back home truly appreciates my humour."</p><p> </p><p>"Shut up Lu." Pauline said. After a moment, the girls parted, and Pauline handed Charlie a sum of about 5£. Charlie raised her brow, but Pauline tilted her head towards the cab driver. After paying, Charlie looked at her best friends, who were already bickering.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline didn't seem to have grown much during the summer, still being the shortest (Thank Merlin). Her red hair had grown a bit, touching her waist the slightest and her eyes seemed brighter and happier than they did the last time Charlie saw her. Her light blue dress seemed to accentuate a red tinge Pauline's skin held, probably from the sun of France.</p><p> </p><p>Luana, on the other hand, easily grew a few more inches. She almost towered over Pauline, which Charlie thought it was a bit funny. Her skin was tanned and  her curly hair passed her shoulders, looking a bit like a mane of uncontrollable curly hair.</p><p> </p><p>"C'mon you idiots, we got to carry this inside" Charlie said, standing between the two as she picked a bag.</p><p> </p><p>After managing to carry their bags inside ("For fucks sake, Pauline do you honestly need this much shit?" "You mean my books?"), the girls settled in Charlie's room. Pauline retold her trip to Malta, Luana complained about her cousins that stayed with her this summer, and Charlie ranted about all the chores she was forced to do this summer.</p><p> </p><p>"Honestly, she didn't even bleed from her nose, I don't get why they're making a big deal out of this" Charlie said, laying on her bed. Looking around, she could see Luana sitting on her chair, and Pauline looking around fascinated, clearly not paying attention.</p><p> </p><p>"Parents, man. What kind I say? My folks made a big deal of me transferring as well. Thank God none of them knows French. I just told my mom all those letters over the year were about how well I was doing. Having fun, Line?" Said Luana while looking at Pauline, who was entertaining herself by poking Charlie's typewriter. Every time she pressed a letter, she'd jump at the noise and proceed to poke more letters.</p><p> </p><p>"You know, if you put paper in it, it writes." Charlie said, looking amused. Pauline's eyes widen and she dived headfirst into her school trunk, in search for parchment no doubt. Charlie and Luana shared an amused look; it was always funny to see Pauline interact with muggle objects. Charlie still remembered how fascinated she was with Luana's pen in First Year.</p><p> </p><p>After a few moments, Pauline got up, a piece of parchment in her hands. She tugged Luana- who rolled her eyes but nevertheless got up- and seated herself in Luana's previous place, while trying to figure out where to insert the paper. Charlie and Luana shared another look, and both seemed to agree to just let Pauline try to figure it out by herself.</p><p> </p><p>Luana jumped on the bed, landing next to Charlie, who glared at her. Luana smirked and winked, turning around so she could continue watching Pauline.</p><p> </p><p>"How 'bout you, Line? Your parents give you any heat?" Luana asked. Pauline stopped typing the letter 'R' and looked at the girls.</p><p> </p><p>"Not really. They kind of knew I was a bit unhappy there, and aunt Marie-Thérèse was happy to help. She just asked me to keep a look out for my little cousin."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, he's starting this year. Same as Anne"</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, my aunt is very proud. My uncle I think barely noticed he's eleven. By the way, where is your sister?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sleeping, she stays up all night trying to read her books but ends up just staring at her wand. It's kind of annoying, really" Charlie replied, rolling her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline threw her a pointed look. "Its 4 in the afternoon". Before Charlie could reply that her sister had lunch before she went back to sleep, Luana interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>"Can't say I blame her. When I found out I was a witch I tried to read mine too. Didn't go too far, on that dat my brother was riding his bicycle and fell face first- but the effort is really the important part" Luana said. The typewriter dinged and Pauline stumbled in the chair, clearly surprised. Both Charlie and Luana tried to cover up her snorts.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline scowled at them "Honestly, you two. You could help me"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh no we cannot. Isn't it you who's always saying we got to learn on our own?"</p><p> </p><p>"There's a big difference between trying to copy off my homework and helping me work this, Lu!" Pauline said, rolling her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"One leads to another. Better let you figure this one out than to help and have you copy off our homework." Luana smirked at Pauline's scoff. Pauline promptly returned to trying to figure out the typewriter, while sending pleading helps to Charlie. Silently, Charlie mimicked someone pushing something, which of course led to Pauline pushing the typewriter off the table. Luana laughed so loud her face was red from the lack of oxygen (Charlie tried to hide her smirk, after all it was her mistake to believe Pauline would get it).</p><p> </p><p>Pauline threw an apologetic look to Charlie, who simply shrugged it off.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't worry about it, I barely use it. My dad just thought I should have it, in case I 'Decided not to follow my wizard options'." Charlie said and Pauline nodded, while picking the typewriter of the floor. The ink tape was out of place, but Charlie could fix that later (or bug her mom to do it with magic). Afterwards, Pauline nudged Charlie, silently asking for space on the bed. Unlike the girls- who were facing the feet of the bed- Pauline's head was on the headboard, her feet next to Charlie's waist.</p><p> </p><p>"Can't wait to meet your dad. Do you think he'll get annoyed if I ask him a few questions?"</p><p> </p><p>Charlie snorted. "Nah, he'll love it, he never really got to do that with mum or with us, since we grew around muggle stuff. I'm sure he'll be happy if someone else looks confused besides him." Charlie said, peaking over her shoulder to look at Pauline's satisfied look.</p><p> </p><p>"Good. Because I've got some questions. Especially after reading my Muggle Studies book." Pauline said, curiously grabbing a small trinket on Charlie's bedside table. Luana groaned.</p><p> </p><p>"Christ, did you already read your manuals?"</p><p> </p><p>"Only the selective ones. I wanted to know if I made the right choices." Pauline said, her eyes suddenly locking with Luana's. "Are you telling me you didn't at least opened them?"</p><p> </p><p>"Well of course I did, but I didn't read them! I just flipped through them and judged them by the pictures inside." Pauline send Luana a pointed look, followed by a pleading look to Charlie, who simply shrugged her shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't even Line. I'm with Luana on this one. It's summer! The mind is supposed to rest, not work overtime." With that, Pauline sighed and dramatically looked into the distance.</p><p> </p><p>"Truly, what could I expect from someone who abandoned me?" She said, in a very dramatic (and very un-Pauline) way.</p><p> </p><p>"I didn't abandon you." Charlie rolled her eyes. Pauline scoffed.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah right, you just left me alone with Lu. That's even worse"</p><p> </p><p>"Hey!" Luana said. Pauline stuck her tongue out playfully. "If my company is that bad then I'm sure you'll be okay sitting alone in Ancient Runes" Luana said, looking expectantly at Pauline.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline, bless her, tried not to crack, but everyone in the room knew how socially awkward Pauline was. After all, right when they met, Pauline would do anything and everything the girls said- that is until they had a very serious conversation about allowing people to walk over her.</p><p> </p><p>"Fine. I'm sorry." Pauline said. Luana just smiled and winked.</p><p> </p><p>"Relax, like I would just leave you. Who would make sure I actually paid attention if I let you sit somewhere else?"</p><p> </p><p>"You?"</p><p> </p><p>"Don't make me laugh, Line."</p><p> </p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes and got up. She walked to her bag and pulled a big book out of it. For a moment Charlie feared Pauline might actually start to monologue about one of her classes.</p><p> </p><p>"Have you guys read this?"</p><p> </p><p>"What? The Bible?"</p><p> </p><p>"It's not the Bible Lu" Pauline scolded.</p><p> </p><p>"Well it's just as thick " Luana grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline ignored her, which Charlie thought it was the right move.</p><p> </p><p>"It's Hogwarts: A History. Since we're going there, I'd figure you guys might actually like to find out how it is."</p><p> </p><p>"We already know how it is, and so do you."</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, well I don't trust Charlie's cousin as a reliable source."</p><p> </p><p>"Very smart of you, you really shouldn't." Charlie quipped.</p><p> </p><p>"See?" Pauline said, sitting back on the bed. "You cannot tell me that you didn't find the information Charlie sent incredibly biased"</p><p> </p><p>"I never said it wasn't, I'm just pointing out that I'd rather have biased information from an unreliable source than to read that big ass book." Luana said, laying sideways.</p><p> </p><p>"Yea, please tell me you didn't finished it all. The summer is for fun, Line." Charlie said. Pauline rolled her eyes and threw the girls a pointed look.</p><p> </p><p>"Well of course I didn't. I do have a life outside of school. But at least the important part I think I covered. Like the actual description of the Houses."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh?"</p><p> </p><p>"Exactly. So, there's 4 houses- named after the founders. Well actually the founders founded the houses and chose-" Pauline started, but after a scarily loud cleared of throat from Luana, she stopped.</p><p> </p><p>"Right, sorry. The houses are Gryffindor-"</p><p> </p><p>"That's my cousin's house!" Charlie interrupted, earning an annoyed look from Pauline. Charlie could feel her cheeks heat up. "Sorry"</p><p> </p><p>"Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slythein. Gryffindor house values bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry. Hufflepuff values hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty and fair play. Ravenclaw prefers intelligent, knowledge and wit and finally, Slytherin values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness." Pauline finished. Charlie was starting to think in which House she might be in when Luana hummed.</p><p> </p><p>"Yea, that's a bit of a far cry from the way Charlie put it."</p><p> </p><p>"My cousin, not me!"</p><p> </p><p>"And you went with it, so it's yours as well. Honestly what kind of school just splits the students in such a vague way? It's way more logical to do it Alphabetically, if you must do it" Luana finished.</p><p> </p><p>"I know right? Something tells me that putting every kid with the same traits in one house is just a recipe for disaster" Charlie said.</p><p> </p><p>"How do they even pick? What if someone is both witty and ambition? Do they just, throw them out?"</p><p> </p><p>"It depends on which trait the person values the most. So, if you value your wit over your ambition, you'll go to Ravenclaw. Or at least I think that's what it is." Pauline said, narrowing her eyes while she flipped the book.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Charlie's door opens (She's pretty sure Luana squealed, but it's best to keep that information for later) and Anne peaked in, clearly shy. Charlie rolled her eyes, but smiled her way, and Anne walked in.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello" She said in a timid voice that just didn't really fit Anne. Pauline was the first to get up, going into kiss both sides of Anne's face. Anne smiled and reciprocated.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi Anne, so good to finally meet you. I'm Pauline. Charlie told us all about you." Anne blushed and grinned, looking at Luana, who was getting up very slowly.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm Luana. How you doin'?" she said while she kissed Anne's cheeks. Luana looked at Anne, then at Charlie, followed by a long look at Anne.</p><p> </p><p>"You guys don't look very alike"</p><p> </p><p>"Well duh."</p><p> </p><p>"I meant, your sister is for sure prettier than you." Luana said, diving when Charlie threw a pillow at her. Anne giggled and Charlie could see she was more relaxed.</p><p> </p><p>"You're one to talk, your brother is way hotter than you."</p><p> </p><p>"Meaning you've been checking me out?" Luana teased, and she threw herself again on the bed, this time on top of Charlie. "Can't exactly blame you, I am nice to look at"</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, calm down Narcissus." Pauline said, whacking playfully Luana's head as she returned to her position in the bed.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you guys mind if I sit with you?" Anne asked.</p><p> </p><p>"No, it's fine. Sit." Pauline said, grinning at Anne. Charlie was sure Pauline was going to dot hard on Anne, since Pauline always wanted a sibling but never got one. Anne sat in the chair by the secretary, looking still a bit nervous.</p><p> </p><p>"So, what were you guys talking about?"</p><p> </p><p>"We were discussing the houses." Charlie said. Anne's eyes brighten and she jumped in her seat.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh! I know all about them! My cousin-" However, before she could finish, Luana snorted.</p><p> </p><p>"Yea, we know what he said. Pauline has a better version though." With a nod in her direction, Pauline repeated what she had said. Charlie could see her sister's brow frown by the end of it.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh" she simply said. "Henry's version is a bit different."</p><p> </p><p>"A bit and a mile more like it." Luana said, earning a jab from Charlie.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes. We were just discussing the process when you walked in." Pauline said, looking at Anne, who was glaring at the floor.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, Henry said that they put a hat on your head, but now I'm sure he was just mugging around. It's sounds too silly."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh!" Pauline started. "No, he's right. According to Hogwarts: A History, that is how they sort the students. However, the hat probably looks into what traits you value the most, not only which ones you possess."</p><p> </p><p>"So" Charlie started "In a way, we kind sort of guessed where we might end up?"</p><p> </p><p>"I mean" Pauline's lips thinned. "I guess. But it's probably more complicated than-"</p><p> </p><p>"Well" Luana interrupted "I know I'll certainly will not end up in Hufflepuff. Hard work seems like too hard for me. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where I'll end up, none of those straits really speak to me."</p><p> </p><p>"That's not true" Charlie said. "You value loyalty, we all do."</p><p> </p><p>"Yea, but it isn't like it's what I most value about myself." Luana finished. She looked at Anne.</p><p> </p><p>"How about you? Where do you think you'll be?" Anne seemed to take the question way too seriously. Her brow furrowed once again, and she looked at the ground like the answer were supposed to be there.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm not sure. Henry said I might be a Hufflepuff, or maybe a Gryffindor." Anne paused "I guessed it doesn't matter much, as long as I can make friends" She grinned.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, I'm sure it won't be hard, you're nicer than your sister." Luana said, ignoring the glare Charlie threw her way.</p><p> </p><p>"She's nice -when she wants to be. After all, it's thanks to her that I have Alfred!" Anne squealed. Charlie started to, as discreetly as she could, to shake her head in her sister's direction.</p><p> </p><p>"Alfred?" Pauline asked. Charlie shook her head so hard she was sure her neck would snap. But alas, Anne ignored her and ran to her room to go get her stupid cat.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you having a stroke?" Charlie heard Luana say. She stopped shaking her head and simply groaned.</p><p> </p><p>"We're going to get a big ass speech about the wrongs of stealing." Luana frowned at what Charlie said, but seemed to comprehend when Anne came back with her car. Alfred was way fatter than he originally was but the weird 'M' mark on his head was a dead giveaway of who this tabby cat was. Charlie dared to look at Pauline.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes looked huge as she regarded the cat, her book falling from her hands to her lap (Which Charlie was sure hurt like hell). Slowly, her eyes moved to Charlie and Luana, who did their best at feigning surprised.</p><p> </p><p>"Charlie brought you this cat, did she?" Pauline asked, her annoyance masked by fake calmness. Anne didn't even seem to notice the malevolence underlining.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes! She said she found it lost. I'm very glad she did, mum and dad aren't big animal fans and I was sure that after Charlie's owl I couldn't get my own- I spent all year last year trying to convince them- but since Charlie just kind of, sprung this one them, they couldn't say no!" Anne cheerfully ranted, while softly petting Alfred's big head.</p><p> </p><p>Pauline kept her eyes on the girls "Funny. It sure looks a lot like this cat that belonged to this mean girl back in Beauxbatons. But it can't be that cat, especially after I specifically told your sister not to steal it." Pauline's eyes felt like daggers to Charlie, who could feel her face warm up. Luana was biting her lip, as to prevent a smirk, but had the decency to try and look ashamed.</p><p> </p><p>"They must be twins or something." Anne said, still clearly not being able to read the room.</p><p> </p><p>"Anne? Can you go put Alfred back? I think he want's some early dinner." Pauline said, a sickly sweet tone that, once again, went right over Anne's head. Anne examined her cat, and must have found him starving, because she left in a hurry.</p><p> </p><p>After she left the room, Pauline slapped every corner of Charlie's leg that was within reach. Luana, the traitor, had leaped out of bed the second Anne left.</p><p> </p><p>"I. Cannot. Believe. You." She said, accentuating each word with a new slap. Finally, Charlie managed to leave the bed, and sat on the chair so she could massage her sore leg.</p><p> </p><p>"What? You have no proof." Charlie said.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't need proof! All I need is to remember Moreau's face when her cat went 'missing' and how you two tried the catch the damned thing for weeks!"</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, not weeks, more like a few days." Luana interrupted, earning even a bigger glare from Pauline.</p><p> </p><p>"Not helping Luana! Honestly what are you? Five? Could you two not just, leave and not annoy anyone on the way out?"</p><p> </p><p>"And go letting Moreau win? No way. Besides, this is a win-win! Anne is happy, and that cat is finally getting fed!" Pauline opened her mouth but was interrupted by the front door opening.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm home!" Charlie heard her mum yell. Pauline took a big breath to calm down.</p><p> </p><p>"Please tell me you two weren't caught." Luana scoffed at that.</p><p> </p><p>"Well of course not, what do you think we are, amateurs?" The three made their way downstairs, where Charlie's mum was scolding Anne.</p><p> </p><p>"But he was hungry mum!" They could hear Anne whine. Catherine huffed.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh please, Anne. You feed that cat so much he could starve for a month and still live. Now stop giving him snacks, I am not doing another visit to Diagon Alley just because this cat decided he only eats fancy treats." Her mother said, a tone of finality in her voice. Anne sighed and agreed, grabbing Alfred and going to the living room.</p><p> </p><p>Charlie's mum looked at them and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello girls, pleasure in meeting you. What would you fancy for dinner?"</p><p> </p><p>                                                                                           +++</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Dinner went better than Charlie thought. Pauline chatted Charlie's dad ear off, asking all sorts of question, that Charlie's dad had no problem in answering. Just like Charlie thought, Charles had no problem in explaining anything Pauline threw his way. Currently, Charles was explaining what he did in the firm he worked at, while Charlie's mum talked with Luana about the Wizgamont. Charlie was sure Luana didn't really care but was politely listening and asking questions.</p><p> </p><p>With no attention on her, Charlie used the moment to look at her parents. Her mum changed from her robes to more casual summer clothing, allowing her blond hair, so similar to Charlie's, to cascade down her shoulders. Charlie always thought of herself as a washed-up version of her mother. Catherine was, easily, one of the most beautiful people Charlie ever saw, even if now a days it was hard to notice, with the stress her she seemed to carry. Still, her mother was the only person Charlie knew that could pull off such serious beauty.</p><p> </p><p>In front of her mother, sat her father. Now a days, Charlie didn't see much of his father, which saddened her greatly. She still remembered the times when she was little, probably around 6, when her dad would show her and Anne (who was still too young to truly remember) his favourite age appropriate muggle movies. Her father would even sit with them during those Disney classics and make some small comments of the origins of the story. Sadly, after he changed firms, he got too busy to watch movies with them. Of course, Charlie didn't hate her parents, she simply worried how much they worked. Looking at her dad, it was clear that he had more white hairs in his short brown hair, and he had more wrinkles around his mouth and forehead, as if he frowned a lot during work.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, before I forget." Charlie broke out of her thoughts by the sound of her mother's voice. Her mum was now looking at her.</p><p> </p><p>"Aunt Marie will stop by tomorrow to leave Andy. I told her you could babysit for him."</p><p> </p><p>Charlie sighed. Even if her mum had put it nicely (probably because of the guests), Charlie knew she meant this was still part of her never ending punishment.</p><p> </p><p>"No problem mum" She simply said.</p><p> </p><p>                                                                                               +++</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Later that night, while Charlie and Luana were painting a sleepy Pauline, Charlie couldn't help but to think of Hogwarts. What if they all stayed in different houses? Whenever Henry talked about his friends, they were all from the same house as him. What would happen if they got separated? Charlie would be forever thankful for what her friends did for her, but what if being in different houses would bring a bigger strain in between them than a transfer?</p><p>After all, with time, Charlie was sure they would all grow more distant if they ended up in different houses. She didn't want to imagine a world without her friends. She looked at Pauline, who was sleeping deeply. The thought of them being in different houses has plagued Charlie all summer, and got even worse when they all talked this afternoon. However, Charlie knew she just couldn't bring her fears up, not with Pauline around.</p><p>Charlie loved her friend, but Pauline was a tad more sensitive than Charlie or Luana, which was great, but also made problems such as this harder to bring up. After all, it was their first night here, Charlie didn't really want to make her best friend cry.</p><p>"Lu?" Charlie whispered. Luana, who was busy painting Pauline's forehead with red nail polish, hummed not looking up from her work. Charlie stopped painting Pauline's Lips, moving the shocking pink lipstick between her fingers, trying to find a good way to bring her doubts up.</p><p>"What do you think will happen, if we end up in different houses?" Charlie whispered. Luana stopped and looked Charlie in the eye. Even with the low light of the room, Charlie could see the serious way Luana looked at her. It was weird, Luana was never this serious. Her brown eyes were filled with an intensity, as if that alone would pass whatever message she was trying to send to Charlie.</p><p>"If we end up in different houses, then we'll all have meals together, and meet up everyday and sit together in whatever classes we have. No matter what, we'll all be together. I can promise you that." Luana replied, her face lacking any sign of the easy-going person she normally was.</p><p>Charlie cleared her throat and tried to stop a smile from breaking through her face. She quickly looked down, just as she felt some tears build up. "Thanks" She said, her voice wavering. She hated to admit it, but what Luana said tugged at her heartstrings.</p><p>"Now" Luana said, a grin forming, a familiar spark in her eyes. "Let's finish painting Line. We got to wake up early tomorrow, if we want to wake her up with the airhorn."</p><p> </p><p>Charlie smiled. She had the best friends ever.</p><p> </p><p>                                                                                              +++</p><p> </p><p>Honestly, being woken up by small slaps wasn't Charlie's favourite way, but Luana never seemed to care what Charlie's preferences were anyway. Charlie set up in her bed, looking around.</p><p>Even in a sleepy daze, Charlie could see little light sneaking in from her complete closed off window, meaning her parents probably already left for work.</p><p>"Is anyone home?" Charlie whispered, slowly leaving the bed she shared with Luana. Sadly, Charlie's bedroom wasn't big enough to fit two extra beds, but Luana never did seem to mind sharing.</p><p>"Your parents already left, they stopped by, but I pretended to be asleep. Bit awkward to start small talk at this hour".</p><p>"Right" Charlie said, grabbing her airhorn from under her bed and making small and silent steps to Pauline. The girls counted to 3 silently and pressed the button. Pauline jumped, trying to grasp what was going on. Her face was still painted from last night, which just made the owlish look she sent them funnier.</p><p>"What is wrong with you two?!" She screamed. Pauline tried to get up, but while still a bit dazed, she tripped on her sheets.</p><p>"Happy Birthday!" Luana yelled. Pauline looked ready to throw herself at Luana and strangle her.</p><p>"My birthday was in July." She said simply.</p><p>"Happy late birthday!" Luana yelled again, throwing her hands in the air. Charlie laughed.</p><p>"Well you can't blame us, we never got to celebrate your birthday so we figured this might make it up for the lost years" Charlie said, trying not to grin too much. It was a bit hard, since Pauline looked so serious, but her makeup nulled the effect.</p><p>"I hate you two, I really do."</p><p>"Awn, we love you too Line. Now, go shower and get dressed. On our way here on the cab I saw this broken door a block over that looks like the perfect ramp."</p><p>Unfortunately, they didn't get to pick up the broken door, as just about they were about to leave, the fireplace in Catherine's office roared to life. A few moments later, the door opened, and Charlie saw her aunt Marie's smiling face. Aunt Marie was wearing her work robes, a far cry from the usual loose dresses she uses, her blond hair pinned tightly to her head. The only thing her aunt Marie had alike her mother was the hair, and the nose. While Charlie's mother had an aristocratic aura to her, Aunt Marie had a more relaxed aura.</p><p>"Charlie, how are you?" She said. "I hope I'm not bothering, but Cat said you wouldn't mind-"</p><p>"Of course, I don't aunt Marie, I love Andy" Charlie interrupted, smiling to her aunt. She quickly introduced her friends to her aunt and hugged her little cousin. Andy had always taken more to his father when it came to looks; but his personality was closer matched with Aunt Marie's chipper one.</p><p>"Hey Andy, want to go wake up Anne with me?" Charlie asked, grinning when the little boy smiled back at her. Not even waiting for her cousin, Andy bolted up the stairs.</p><p>Aunt Marie said her goodbyes and left in a hurry, no doubt already late for whatever meeting she had. Charlie didn't know exactly what her aunt did, especially since her aunt had a recent promotion, but she knew it was a nice job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Ministry.</p><p>"You think we can still leave without anything happening?" Luana asked, and just moments later, a scream could be heard from upstairs followed by a child's giggling.</p><p>"Sorry, Lu. We'll get the door tomorrow, yea?"</p><p>Luana sighed dramatically. "I guess. Come one, let's make breakfast."</p><p>As they prepared breakfast, Charlie smiled. This week was sure to be entertaining with her friends around. And even with the fears of the sorting, Charlie can't barely wait to go to Hogwarts.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 3- 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The worse way to wake up? The doorbell ringing nonstop- and that's exactly what Charlie had to suffer with on August 30th. Charlie could already guess who it was- who else could be this annoying so early in the day?</p><p>Charlie felt Luana shift, only to be kicked in the shin. Luana had the audacity to groan like she was the one in pain, still not lifting her head from her pillow.</p><p>"Who the fuck is that?" She mumbled, still kicking Charlie. From the other side of the room, Charlie could hear Pauline mutter curses in French, clearly still tired. Last night, the girls had decided to stay up and show Pauline as much muggle movies as possible. Now, they regretted the decision very much. Mind you, they didn't even get very far, since Luana took forever to decide what to watch next.</p><p>The sound of a door opening was heard, followed by heavy and slow footsteps to the lower floor. Charlie guessed that the noise even managed to wake up her dad- who slept like rock on his days off- and was now making his way to the front door. Charlie could hear a few mumbles, and someone's quick footsteps making their way up the stairs...and stop right in front of her room. Merlin, she'd never get to sleep now.</p><p>"Sorry" She mumbled. Luana frowned her brow, keeping her eyes closed, clearly confused by what Charlie said. After a few rapid knocks on Charlie's bedroom door, she heard her door opening.</p><p>"You will not believe-" Charlie opened her eyes, looking at Henry, who had stopped talking and was looking around. The room was a bigger mess than usual and didn't have much space with the extra bed in it. From her bed, Pauline peaked from the sheets, went red, and immediately hid again. Charlie wasn't surprised, Pauline had some problems making friends, and meeting Henry like this didn't exactly helped. Luana however, decided that waking up to see the intruder wasn't worth it, and just kept her eyes closed, still trying to sleep. Charlie hoped no one ever tried to break into Luana's home, since she clearly didn't care if she lived or died.</p><p>"This are my friends, I told you they'd be here." Charlie said, lowering her head to the pillow again. She raised her arm and pointed at Luana. "This is Luana and that's Pauline" She pointed at Pauline, who stuck her hand out and waved.</p><p>"Oh, right. Forgot. Anyway," Henry started, already making himself at home by taking his shoes and pushing Charlie closer to Luana. Luana grumped at the tight fit of the three on the bed, but must have deemed it not worthy of her attention for long, since she kept on sleeping.</p><p>"Greece was shit. I mean, pretty place and all- great food- but mum just kept jabbing me in the direction of that twat. Said she really liked him." Henry huffed. "She says that about them all. I'm surprised this one didn't bolt as soon as she mentioned having a kid."</p><p>"Have you ever thought of, I don't know, maybe giving them a fair shot?" Charlie asked while stretching. They would be here for a while, better give up on sleep now. Henry chuckled.</p><p>"What for? She can do way better than that idiot. Plus, apparently, he had a 'bad divorce' and blames it  all on his ex- I don't trust him. His own kid – the older one- told me he thought his dad had cheated. I don't want my mum to date a twat like him. Not to mention how dull he is- has some stupid opinion about everything; on the first day he kept bugging me about the right way to eat breakfast. Honestly he's such so-" Henry kept ranting, but Charlie knew from experience she could ignore him for a bit. She decided to focus instead on what to do for breakfast. Her father would no doubt sleep until right before lunch. Her mother would work all day and at night, her father would have to catch a flight to Dublin.</p><p>Henry ended up ranting for half an hour, which gave time for Charlie to decide what to do today. Looking a bit around, she saw Pauline sneak her way out of bed, grabbing some clothes and hygiene products, meaning she was going to shower. Turning her head, Charlie could see that Luana was looking at the ceiling, an annoyed look on her face. Clearly, she hadn't been able to ignore Henry's loud voice as well as Charlie did (Though, Charlie did have more practice on it).</p><p>"Please, shut up already. We get it, you hate him. Just tell your mother already and end our misery." She finally said, loud enough to interrupt Henry. Henry scowled, looking at Charlie for assistance- who simply shrugged.</p><p>"She's right. Just tell aunt Beatrice you don't like him; she normally takes your stupid opinions to heart." Charlie said.</p><p>Henry sighed. "Well clearly neither of you have been listening closely- I can't tell mum shit. Apparently, she 'really likes this one' and if I say somethin' I'll just look like an arse who doesn't want his mum to be happy"</p><p>"Isn't that what you're doing already?" Luana quipped, and Henry lifted his head just to glare at her. Luana grinned back.</p><p>"Who are you again?" Henry asked, clearly a bit ticked off.</p><p>"Luana, pleased to meet you." She said trying to pull off a dramatic bow (since she was still lying down it just looked like she was trying to bang her head against her knees). "Honestly, I think you just got to put up with it for a while. If he's really that much of a scum he'll do something stupid and your mum will realise you were right all along."</p><p>Henry sighed once more, the annoyed look being replace by one of desperation. "Yea but I can't wait that long. School is just about to start, and mum will be left alone. If he does screw up- which I'm sure he will- I won't be there for her"</p><p>"She's a big girl, she'll manage without you. Trust me on this one" Luana said, her face devoid of amusement. Instead she had her look reserved for serious conversations. Henry looked a bit into the distance, processing Luana's words. Finally, he fell again into the pillow he was sharing with Charlie.</p><p>"I don't like your friend, Charlie." He simply said, which made Luana snort. Henry cracked a small smile and extended his arm, introducing himself. Luana shook it, doing the same (again).</p><p>"Great, you're all buddy buddies. Can one of you please move so I can leave? You two are squishing me" Charlie said. Judging by the matching smirks the both shared, she was sure she'd never be able to leave.</p><p>"Oh, not so fast. Has Charlie ever told you about the time she sprayed perfume on her mouth in a mall and ended up puking on the floor of the store?" Henry said, looking amused at the horror look Charlie had. Luana's eyes sparkled.</p><p>"No, she has not. Please, do not leave any detail out" She replied, supporting her head on her fist, as if to prepare herself to hear a great tale. Everything about this was horrid, including the fact that the arm Luana was leaning on was perched on Charlie's stomach.</p><p> </p><p>"I hate you two" She simply said.</p><p>                                                                                     ++</p><p> </p><p>"You're joking" Luana said, lazily looking at Henry, who was cooking some sausages. After Pauline had come back, Charlie managed to drag Henry and Luana (who were still exchanging embarrassing stories about Charlie) downstairs, and even managed to force Henry to cook them breakfast as punishment for waking them up so early. While he did, Henry shared some of his knowledge of Hogwarts and clarified the doubts of the girls.</p><p>"Not this time. I mean, that's kind of silly, isn't it? Why would we have to get up every time Dumbledore walked in?" Henry said, pouring the sausages into a plate, getting ready to cook bacon.</p><p>"Because it's a form of respect?" Pauline said, clearly shocked by the news. It was good to see that she lost most of her shyness quickly. Charlie was sure that all it took was realising that Henry was kind of a weirder version of Luana. Henry's face scrounged up and he looked at Pauline like she was crazy.</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes. "Fine then. What about nymphs, do you have them?"</p><p>"Nah, we got ghosts." At that, Luana quirked her eyes, seemingly interested.</p><p>"Oh?" She simply said, straightening herself in her chair.</p><p>"Yea, one for each house. There's Nearly headless Nick - don't ask him why he's named that, trust me on this- , he's the Gryffindor's house ghost. Then there's the Grey Lady, kind of shy normally only talks to Ravenclaws, the Fat Friar for Hufflepuff and the Bloody Baron for the Slytherin" Henry finished. After a second he perked up again, as if he forgot something.</p><p>"Oh, and professor Binns, I keep forgetting he's a ghost-"</p><p>"I'm sorry," Said Luana, now on the end of her chair, as if she was going to jump "Did you just say we're going to have a ghost as a professor?"</p><p>"Yea" Henry sighed, "He's a huge pain in the arse if you actually try to pay attention. He teaches History of Magic- pretty fitting if you ask me"</p><p>"So, he's a bore?" Luana asked, looking bummed out. Charlie understood what she felt. History of Magic was Luana's favourite- and best- class. Charlie could only hope that whoever the teacher for Herbology was, that they kept it interesting.</p><p> </p><p>"Yup, my advice? Take a pillow, have a nap. I also heard there's a ghost in one of the gjrl's bathroom but it's not like I could go there and check." Henry said, bringing the sausages and the cooked bacon to the table.</p><p> </p><p>"There you go, free food."</p><p> </p><p>"Technically it isn't free for me, my parents paid for it."</p><p> </p><p>"Well it's free to me, now take some before I eat it all."</p><p> </p><p>                                                                                       +++</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"No."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"No, no way."</p><p>"Yea, kind off."</p><p>"No offense dude, but I don't think any of us trusts you." Luana said, defending Charlie. Henry had to be mad, if he actually thought they would go headfirst against a wall. Charlie was absolute sure he was mugging around.</p><p>"Fine then, stay in land." He said, grabbing Anne by the shirt "Me and Annie will just enjoy Hogwarts" Anne looked like she too didn't trust Henry, but decided to stay quiet (Instead of supporting her sister, unbelievable).</p><p>Aunt Beatrice rolled her eyes. "Trust me, we have to go through the wall. I'll even go first yea?" Charlie watched with doubtful eyes as her aunt approached the wall. She knew that Henry could have easily just asked his mum to mess with them.</p><p>And yet, aunt Beatrice disappeared after a second, quickly followed by Henry and then Anne, who screamed. Charlie looked at her friends. Pauline still looked doubtful but Luana simply shrugged.</p><p>"I mean, what's the worse that can happen? We get a cut?" She simply said, advancing towards the barrier. Pauline's face turned serious as she listened to Luana and followed her friend.</p><p>Charlie looked up to the ceiling. If she ended up crashing, she was going to kill Henry.</p><p>She took a deep breath and started to run. Just before she hit the wall, she closed her eyes, and tried to get her body to relax. There was an absence of light followed by an explosion of noises. Charlie opened her eyes too late, and almost collided with Luana. She looked around.</p><p>There was a big scarlet train, and families all around the platform. Next to her, Pauline was grinning, her eyes bright. Luana seemed fascinated with a particular family a few meters apart, who were wearing the most ridiculous robes.</p><p>"Told you." Henry said. Next to him, aunt Beatrice was hugging Anne, who could barely stand still. Afterwards, aunt Beatrice hugged Charlie and even hugged Pauline and Luana. Finally, she looked at Henry, who seemed to understand his fate.</p><p>Aunt Beatrice threw herself at her son so hard that Charlie saw Henry tumble backwards. Henry laughed and hugged his mother back, while aunt Beatrice kissed every inch of Henry's face. Charlie felt a tinge of jealousy while watching his cousin being smothered with love. Her own parents were working at the moment and asked aunt Beatrice to take the girls to the station. Charlie didn't hate her parents, but she simply preferred it when she was a little girl, before her parents rose to their current positions at work. After all, aunt Beatrice always took the day off to say goodbye to Henry.</p><p>"You better write to me every day" Aunt Beatrice warned.</p><p>"Mum!"</p><p>"Don't you 'mum' me, every day mister!"</p><p>"Every week."</p><p>"That's not enough!"</p><p>"Don't worry mum, I'm sure the school will send you plenty of letters telling you what I'm up to" Henry smirked which earned him a smack on the head from aunt Beatrice. Aunt Beatrice whispered something in Henry's ear, who nodded and hugged his mum one last time.</p><p>The hug took so long, that the four girls just stood there, awkwardly hoping to get to the train. Finally, the two said their absolute goodbyes and Henry directed all the girl into the train. After pulling all their luggage's onto the train (at first he only pulled Anne's, but Charlie has some serious puppy eyes that always work on her cousin), Henry started to walk the narrow hallway.</p><p>"Alright. Annie, this compartment seems full of firsts years, want to seat there or with one of us?" Anne twirled one of her brown locks in her hands, a nervous tick she had. After a few moments, she spoke.</p><p>"I'll stay here, you lot already have friends" And so Anne walked in, and presented herself.</p><p>"Good, one down. Now, you three." Henry started, assessing the girls. Charlie crossed her arms and pushed her cousin so he would keep walking.</p><p>"We can find a compartment for ourselves, thank you very much. Go bother someone else"</p><p>"But where's the fun in that? Come one, the last compartments are normally empty at this hour." And so, Henry led the girls to the very back. On their way there, a few people greeted Henry, who simple nodded as acknowledgment. It was particularly funny when two boys, probably Charlie's age, almost broke the door trying to open it to talk to him.</p><p>"You seem famous" Said Luana, watching the two boys' wave for Henry's attention.</p><p>"Well, I am. It's a curse when you're this good looking-" Charlie jabbed him. "-But mostly it's because of Quidditch. I'm captain this year and some people-" Henry pointed his head in the direction of the compartment with the two boys "want as much information about try-outs as possible. Joke's on them, I have no idea when they'll be yet. Ah-a!" Henry extended his arms, presenting an empty compartment.</p><p>"There you go ladies. Have fun." He said. After another puppy eyes look, he lifted their trunks and left.</p><p>"You've got to teach me that, it might come in handy" Luana said while spreading herself in a seat, occupying an entire side. Charlie quirked an eyebrow.</p><p>"Why do you want to manipulate my cousin?"</p><p>"Well, there's a lot of stairs in Hogwarts isn't' it? What am I supposed to do, climb them myself?" At that, Pauline threw her jackets at Luana.</p><p>"Oh, stop it. He's being nice and you just want to take advantage of it."</p><p>"Well, duh. From what Charlie told us before, it's not like he'll be that nice forever!"</p><p>"Hey!" Exclaimed Charlie "He's not that bad!"</p><p>"Didn't you say he threw you into a pool when you were 5?"</p><p>"He was trying to teach me how to swim" Charlie defended.</p><p>"Yeah, right. Because that's the only reason someone would throw your annoying ass into a pool" Luana said, which earned her a glare from Charlie.</p><p>"You're one to talk really. Didn't' Dubois once-"</p><p>"Anyway" Pauline interrupted. Charlie scowled; she would have liked to at least finish her embarrassing story of Luana. But Pauline was right to interrupt, or else the two wouldn't stop all ride.</p><p>"Didn't your cousin say there's a witch that sells candy?" Pauline continued.</p><p>"Ohh yeah! I remember that too!" Luana said, looking more chipper.</p><p>"What should we get?"</p><p>"I want chocolate frogs!"</p><p>"Well I want liquorish wands" Luana looked like she swallowed a lemon.</p><p>"Ugh, you still like those things? Honestly 'Line, that's disgusting." Pauline looked appalled. Charlie smirked, she knew in the end the girls would get a bit of everything, but it was still funny to watch this old discussion.</p><p>"Disgusting? Those frogs are alive! How can you eat them when they still move in your mouth?"</p><p>"There not alive 'Line, it's a spell" Charlie quipped. Pauline turned to face Charlie so harshly that her hair whipped her in the face, dissolving a bit the dramatic effect Pauline was going for.</p><p>"If it moves, it's gross, now hush, you're no better" Charlie faked a shocked expression.</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"Yeah" Luana quipped "Who the hell likes cauldron cakes? They barely taste like anything!" And so, Charlie spent the next hour or so explaining why cauldron cakes were in fact, the best candy. The candy discussion lasted until the trolley lady showed up ( they ended up buying a bit of everything, like always) and then moved on to classes, some information Henry told them that they were sure it was bogus ( "Oh c'mon, there's no way the school keeps trolls in the dungeon, he's just trying to scare you of them so you don't end up in Slytherin.") , to some more talk of the classes ( "I Heard that the last Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher quit after some students ignited some firework in his office, so I guess we're getting a new one." "Yeah, and who told you that, your cousin? I'll be surprise if it wasn't him, that sounds like some dumb Gryffindor behaviour.") which led to a talk about the houses.</p><p>"I'm just saying, putting all the impulsive kids in one house is a bad idea, can you imagine a place just full of Henry's?" Charlie said. Pauline looked thoughtful but Luana didn't even break her gaze with the ceiling.</p><p>"Yea sounds like hell." She said absently, now glaring at the ceiling. Pauline got up and placed her head next to Luana's, also facing the ceiling.</p><p>"What are you doing?" She simply said. Luana pointed to something in the ceiling and Pauline hummed in understanding. Now curious, Charlie got up to go see what it is.</p><p>"What are you two idiots looking at?" Charlie asked, looking at the ceiling. Pauline pointed to a small dark spot- probably from a blast- that kind of looked like a bunny with his ears pointing backwards.</p><p>"Huh" She simply said, "I wonder how that got there."</p><p>For the next hour, the girls spent theorizing what could have provoked the dark spot, and what it looked like the most.</p><p>"No, you're wrong, it's a bunny"</p><p>"Are you crazy?" Pauline said. "It's clearly a goat"</p><p>"If you squint your eyes hard enough, it kind of looks like a donkey too" Luana retorted, but the girls ignored her.</p><p>"How in the world is that goat?!"</p><p>"Well, how can it be a bunny, with the pointed horns?"</p><p>"That's his ears!" Charlie said. Both Pauline and Luana looked at her like she was crazy.</p><p>"Well, they're twisted you see-"</p><p>"That's because they're horns!" Pauline said. Charlie opened her mouth, to once again defend her bunny theory, but at that moment the door of the compartment opened.</p><p>It was Anne, already on her black school robes, little hat included. She was looking at the three girls like she really didn't want to hear any more of their conversation.</p><p>"Are you two serious? Discussing a smudge?"</p><p>"We got bored, so what?" Luana said.</p><p>"What do you want?" Charlie asked. Anne straightened herself.</p><p>"Just came to warn that we're probably arriving soon. Everyone in my compartment already changed so I just came by to let you know."</p><p>"Did you make any friends?" Pauline asked, a soft smile gracing her face. Charlie rolled her eyes, Pauline really shouldn't dot on Anne, she's more annoying that she is cute. Still, Anne smiled a big grin and nodded her head.</p><p>"Yeah! Everyone in my compartment is really nice!"</p><p>"That's great. Now buzz off" Anne glared at Charlie's comment but left, nevertheless. Pauline got up, threw a nasty look at Charlie (Really, Pauline wouldn't think little siblings would be that fun is she had them) and opened her new trunk, getting her clothes out.</p><p>Charlie did the same. Unlike Pauline, both her and Luana's trunk were still the light blue of Beauxbatons. Charlie really wouldn't mind a new trunk, especially one that didn't stand out as much, but her mother said hers was still fine, probably a small punishment for having to transfer.</p><p>It was just after they changed into their robes, that Charlie felt the train slow down. An announcement told them to leave their belongings in the train. Charlie looked at her barn owl Yaris, petting her a few times before leaving her there.</p><p>The train station (in what Charlie assumed it was Hogsmead, if Henry wasn't joking) was full chaos, with kids everywhere trying to catch a carriage. Pauline made a noise of surprise when she noticed that the carriages were self-pulled.</p><p>After looking around a while, Charlie saw her sister walking with the other first years to an enormous man, and she saw everyone else going to the carriages. Shrugging her shoulders, Charlie started to make her way to the carriages, when she felt two hands stop her shoulders and direct her to the boats.</p><p>"The first years go in there." Henry said, his smirk bigger than usual. Of course, he was enjoying this.</p><p>"We're not first years." Luana said, making her way to the carriages. Henry lifted one hand from Charlie's shoulders and wrapped it around Luana's robes, tugging her lightly towards the boats. After he let go, Luana still held her face of shock, as if Henry touching her was a major crime in her book.</p><p>"It's your first year in this school so it counts." Henry said. In the distance, some boys yelled at him, and he waved them to wait. "Just go in the bloody boats, it's pretty fun." He finally said, running to join his buddies.</p><p>"Honestly" Luana complained, "It's bad enough that we got to use this ridiculous hat, but now we also got to ride with the small kiddies? Just shoot me." Pauline rolled her eyes and grabbed Luana's arm, dragging her to the boats. Charlie felt Luana's pain, she felt embarrassed with the hat, especially since older students didn't seem to wear them. At least in Beauxbatons everyone was forced, so the humiliation was collective.</p><p>Charlie hated to admit it, but the boat ride was actually fun. They road with Pauline's cousin Barty, who was starting this year too, and they got an amazing view of the castle. Hogwarts wasn't as big as Beauxbatons, but it was just as pretty in Charlie's eyes. Filled with towers and a big ground, Hogwarts gave Charlie a warm feeling. Plus, seeing Luana almost fall of the boat when she tried to stand up was also funny.</p><p>As they arrived at shore (And Charlie was blessed with seeing Pauline almost slip of the boat as well), the giant man- who Barty told them was named Hagrid- led them to the entering of the school, where a professor was waiting for them.</p><p>The professor looked around her 40's, with some wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. She had glasses and her hair was in the tightest bun Charlie has ever seen. The professor's eyes seem to scan the students, stopping when she saw the older girls. Charlie resisted the urge to looked down- she just got here and yet this teacher's gaze made her think she already did something wrong.</p><p>"'Ere they are" Hagrid said to the professor.</p><p>"Thank you, Hagrid." The professor turned to the massive doors Infront of her, and with a flick of her wrist, she opened them. As she led them inside, Charlie took in the decoration. There were torches everywhere, giving the castle a warm feeling. The castle itself was made out of stone, but not the white stone of Beauxbatons, but one darker that made the castle feel more antique. Charlie caught something silver looking pass by, and realised it was a ghost- one of the ones Henry was talking about, but it passed so fast Charlie couldn't tell which one it was.</p><p>The professor stopped in front of another set of doors, this time golden.</p><p>"Welcome to Hogwarts, I'm your transfigurations teacher- and the deputy headmistress- Professor Minerva McGonagall" said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.</p><p> </p><p>"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.</p><p>"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall looked directly to a student whose tie was undone. Charlie quickly tried to tug her badly tied tie in her sweater. Her eyes turned again to the girls.</p><p>"You three, with me, please" Without waiting, Professor McGonagall started walking, leaving the girls to jog to catch up. Charlie guessed professor McGonagall must have sensed it, since she returned to talking.</p><p>"Hogwarts hasn't had exchanged students in 30 years. As so, Headmaster Dumbledore thought it be best to sort you separately, in his office, as to not draw too much attention to you three." The professor said, throwing a quick glance at Luana's and Charlie's ties. As they walked Charlie tried to discreetly improve her knot, while Pauline tried to do the same to Luana's.</p><p>Finally, Professor McGonagall stopped in front of a statue of a griffin. After saying the password ("What kind of password is pixie puff?" whispered Luana to Charlie's ear) the statue gave place to the staircases to the headmaster's office. While climbing, Charlie tried to calm her heart.</p><p>This was it; this was the moment she feared. In just a few minutes, her friendship with Pauline and Launa could change forever. Hogwarts is big and full of people, what if they found someone better? Charlie closed her eyes and tried to discreetly control her erratic breathing. It all felt too fast; just a second ago they were in London and now it was night and she would probably be separated from her friends. Charlie felt her breaths quicken and became deeper and tried once again to silently calm down. But she couldn't. Every step she took reminded her of what was expecting them and just made it worse.</p><p>Charlie felt a warm hand envelop around her right one, squeezing it tight. She opened her eyes and was met with Luana's. She hasn't stopped walking, making sure not to draw any attention to them. Her other hand was on Pauline's who looks a bit too pale. Charlie once again looked at Luana, who was still looking at her.</p><p>There was something odd about how Luana always managed to understand Charlie's mood just right. Right now, Charlie could see the seriousness that look so wrong in Luana's normally chipper face. Amongst that seriousness, there was a warmth feeling too. Her brown eyes seemed soothing, like she was trying to remind Charlie of her promise. Luana squeezed her hand once again, and Charlie felt more anchored. Luana was right. Both her friends already made this crazy sacrifice for her; clearly, they're both too stubborn to let some housing separation divide them.</p><p>A heavy weight was still in Charlie's heart, but she decided to smile at Luana, telling her with a look that she was calmer. Luana looked at Charlie a bit longer, her eyes analysing Charlie's face. After a few seconds she turned to the front, while also squeezing both the girls hands.</p><p>Pauline turned her head and sent a wavery smile to Charlie. Charlie sent a reassuring one back. As Pauline turned to the front once more, Charlie sighed. She couldn't afford to worry about her right now, Pauline needed reassuring too, it was unfair to leave Luana to help both. No matter what, she needed to make sure Pauline was alright.</p><p>At last, they reached the top of the stairs. Professor McGonagall knocked and a soft 'come in' could be heard.</p><p>The Headmaster's office was amazing. It was nothing like the clean and perfectly neat office of Madame Lunet. This office was circular- a far cry from the rectangular cold one of Madam Lunet- filled with noisy trinkets in shelves and small tables around the office. Charlie couldn't even see the colours of the office walls, since these were filled with portraits of old wizards, mostly who were sleeping. But the most impressive of all, was the huge claw-footed desk, where the Headmaster was writing.</p><p>Charlie remembered Henry saying that his name was Dumbledore. This wizard was old, with long silvery hair and beard, a long face, half moon glasses and a nose that seemed too crooked to be natural. He was wearing blue robes that looked quite eccentric. The headmaster smiled, and Charlie felt a bit calmer.</p><p>"Ah, you must be the new transfer students. Welcome." He said. The Headmaster turned his look to professor McGonagall. "Thank you, Minerva. You may go tend to the first years, I'll take the hat down myself" Professor McGonagall nodded and left. Dumbledore smiled once more and gestured them to approach.</p><p>"I've got to say, never have I had the pleasure to have the Minister of Magic himself ask to accept foreign students. Quite a pull you have, Miss Roux" There was no malice in Dumbledore's words, and yet Pauline flushed red and looked down. Dumbledore simply chuckled.</p><p>"That's quite alright. I hope you find Hogwarts just as welcoming as Beauxbatons. Now, let's see." Dumbledore grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and got up. Now, Charlie could see that he was wearing some high heel boots, a very peculiar choice since the headmaster wasn't that short. He stopped just in front of an old stool with a raggedy hat on top- The sorting hat.</p><p>"Ellis, Charlotte" The professor said. Charlie left a cold sensation in her stomach, but still detached herself from Luana and went to the Headmaster.</p><p>"No need to be afraid, it doesn't hurt at all" Dumbledore said, probably confusing Charlie's pale face with a scared expression. "If you may sit on the stool, I'll place the hat on you head and he'll determine what House you'll be in." Charlie did was she was told, gripping the ends of the stool with all her might. She removed her hat of the uniform and held it tightly against the stool.</p><p>Suddenly, the hat in Charlie's head started to move and Charlie heard a voice in her mind.</p><p>Ah, another Ellis. But a mind very different from your cousin's. I see the loyalty for your friends... Maybe Hufflepuff... A Brave one has well... you would do well in Gryffindor... Cunning...but not enough for Slytherin... ah yes, you have a thirst for knowledge too... Ravenclaw would help you in greatness... difficult one you are... Intelligentt, brave and loyal... But which one defines you better? I know... Better be... "RAVENCLAW!"</p><p>The hat was lifted of Charlie's head, just in time for her to notice her tie transform into to what she assumed was Ravenclaw colours- blue and bronze. She went to stand next to her friends and threw them a smile. Truly, Charlie didn't really mind in which house she was in, if her friends would be with her.</p><p>"Rodrigues, Luana" Dumbledore said next, smiling at Luana. Luana took her hat and sat down. Charlie didn't really understand how Luana could look so calm, her entire face seemed relaxed. As Charlie kept looking, she could see a fierce in Luana's eyes as well.</p><p>The hat stayed a bit more this time, around 2 minutes or so. Luana kept furrowing her brow, like she was arguing with the hat. In the end she made a face of understanding and left just after the hat declared her a Ravenclaw as well.</p><p>"Roux, Pauline" Dumbledore said finally. Pauline released a sigh and went to the stool, just as Luana came to Charlie's side. Charlie really wanted to hug her friend, who she was sure fought the hat a bit to be placed in Ravenclaw as well, but she wanted to know Pauline's verdict first.</p><p>"Ugh, more blue." Luana complained, looking at her tie absently. Thankfully, the hat didn't take as long with Pauline, who left the stool with a beaming smile and a tie already changing to bronze and blue. She quickly came and hugged the girls, who all hugged her back.</p><p>"I hope you all enjoy your time in Ravenclaw and in Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled, opening the door and gesturing them to follow. The descent was easier. Charlie didn't feel any weight on her chest now, just pure relief.</p><p>"How much did you fight with the hat, Lu?" Pauline asked and Charlie chuckled.</p><p>"Believe it or not, not that hard. He said I'm pretty creative, so I'd do okay there. He also said I'd be a good Gryffindor, but I really don't want to be stuck with Henry." Pauline chuckled a bit, looking happily ahead. Her freckled face had regained its colour back and her blue eyes were shinning.</p><p>"The hat told me that too, for some reason. I always thought it be good in Hufflepuff too." she says.</p><p>"No way, you'd look horrid in yellow" Charlie said and was glad to see a big grin on Pauline's face.</p><p>Ahead of them Dumbledore kept humming a tune, absently looking at the portraits and paintings along the walls. Charlie kept remembering all those times her mother referenced Dumbledore and how he was probably the greatest wizard of their time. And yet, Dumbledore reminded Charlie more of a grandpa who would knit sweaters for his pets.</p><p>Soon, they arrived at the doors of the great hall once more. Professor McGonagall was commanding some first years to fix themselves. After seeing Dumbledore, she quickly introduced him (Charlie snickered at some kids' gasps) and allowed them to enter the great hall. Charlie caught her sister's eye and sent her a thumbs up, as a way to show her support.</p><p>Dumbledore's presence silenced the hall for a second. However, after he smiled and casually continued to walk, everyone returned to their chatting and the girls managed to quietly slip in. Pauline tugged at their robes and pointed to a blue and bronze table: the Ravenclaw table. While making their way, Charlie glanced at the red and gold table, and found her cousin already looking at her.</p><p>Henry was surrounded by, who Charlie assumed, were his friends and seemed to be squinting to catch the colour of Charlie's tie. When he did, his faced twisted into a fake betrayed look, even adding a hand over the heart. Charlie rolled her eyes but smiled. She knew her cousin didn't really care what house she was in.</p><p>Finally sitting down next to some older students, the girls turned their attention to the doors, where the first years were getting ready to be sorted. The hat began to sing, but Charlie was more concentrated in the hall to listen.</p><p>The great hall was enormous, with five big tables: one for the teachers and one for each house. There were candles floating around, banners of the houses on the walls, big windows that showed the darkness outside and even 4 glasses that resembled sand timers with different precious gems- the points system professor McGonagall explained.</p><p>But the best of it all, was the ceiling. Charlie couldn't actually see the ceiling, just the night sky, the stars looking brighter than ever. It was the most beautiful piece of magic Charlie could even think of (even beating the time her mother made Charlie's favourite stuffed toy come to life to sing her a happy birthday and give her a hug).</p><p>At some point, Charlie felt Pauline tug her and she noticed that it was her cousin's sorting. Pauline's cousin, Barty, was sorted into Slytherin and Pauline clapped so hard, other Ravenclaws gave her weird looks. Charlie started to pay more attention to the sorting. After all, if Barty was called then her sister's turn was coming soon.</p><p>A few more kids were sorted; Alice Durnell was a Hufflepuff and Ezra Elswick was a Slytherin as well.</p><p>"Ellis, Anne" Charlie saw her little sister walk to the front: Anne kept tugging a lock of her long hair, her brown eyes filled with nerves. Finally, she sat down and the hat was placed on her head.</p><p>It didn't stay long, only about a minute or less. Afterwards Anne smiled and Charlie and her friends cheered. But none of them managed to beat Henry's cheer. Turns out he manage to get what he wanted: a cousin in Gryffindor.</p><p>Anne made her way to the table and Henry went to her as discreetly as possible and hugged her. Charlie smiled as she saw her sister swat him away, a useless tactic to stop him from embarrassing her.</p><p>The sorting continued, but Charlie lost all interest. Whenever the people at her table cheered, she'd cheered too while still maintaining her discussion of muggle bands with Pauline and Luana.</p><p>"Christ." Luana complained. "I'm starving. Say what you will about Beauxbâtons, but at least I never starved there." She continued, bouncing on her feet as the last kid was sorted.</p><p>As the clapping stopped, Dumbledore rose and gave the best speech Charlie ever heard: "Tuck in".</p><p>All around them, the plates were filled with food, any and all types (Well, not all types, they discovered as Pauline looked for gratin dauphinois and couldn't find it). Luana was the first to react, by pilling some chicken onto her plate. Charlie followed her example, but decided on a variety of meat, not being able do decide. Not finding what she originally wanted, Pauline chose some salmon instead.</p><p>"Forget what I said" Luana said. "This school seems pretty groovy" Charlie snickered while Pauline looked a bit confused at Luana.</p><p>"Good to know that all you need is food to like something. I'll keep that in mind for the next time you're mad at me." Charlie replied.</p><p>"Hey! That's rude. You know I also accept cash."</p><p>"You two are idiots" Pauline playfully huffed.</p><p>"Oh please, no one forgot that time I let you kick me, so you'd forgive me."</p><p>"That was different."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Well, I  never burned down your favourite dress now have I?"</p><p>"It was an accident! I was trying a spell." Luana exclaimed.</p><p>"Guys, c'mon. Let it die." Charlie said, trying to decide on dessert.</p><p>After chatting some more, the food vanished once more (earning a squeal from Pauline who was eating a pudding) and Dumbledore rose to his feet. This time, the speech made more sense as he welcomed the students, warned them of some lurking dangers ( Charlie could see Luana's interest peak at the mention of a forbidden forest) and introduce some new staff. Professor Wythe as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and the new caretaker, Mr. Filch who looked like he was already regretting taking the job.</p><p>After the motivating part, clearly refereeing to keeping hope in this time of war, people started to get up. Having no idea where the common room was, the girls decided to follow the older Ravenclaws, and Charlie had to run to keep up after she diverted to hug her sister.</p><p>"Welcome to Ravenclaw" the prefect said. "Our common room is located in one of the towers, this is the most direct way to it, I'd advise you to pay attention to it. To enter our common room, you've got to answer a riddle given to you by the eagle doorknob" Some kids snickered and Charlie could feel her eyebrows furrowing. She sucked at riddles.</p><p>After a lot of stairs (Charlie was sure she'd lost a pound), they finally arrived at the top of a tower. There, a simple wooden door stood, with a pretty doorknob shaped like an eagle. The older student touched it and the eagle came to life.</p><p>"I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?"</p><p>The prefect looked in thought, just like his counterpart. Some kids tried to pip in all at once but were quickly stopped by the prefect, who told them they only have 3 tries, or else they would have to wait for someone else. The two prefects were deep in conversation, and Charlie could feel the hall begin to crowd with other Ravenclaws. On her sides, Pauline looked to be trying to solve the riddle and Luana was staring at a painting moving on the end of the hall.</p><p>After at least 5 minutes, someone finally answered ("An echo") and they were let in.</p><p>The Ravenclaw common room was a huge, circular room with amazing circular windows, that even from where she stood Charlie knew held great views. The house colours- blue and bronze- were displayed by silks curtains. There was a huge carpet covered in stars that reflected the dome ceiling, and the room was filled with tables and bookcases. In the parallel wall to the entry, stood two doors separated by a massive statue of who Charlie assumed was Rowena Ravenclaw.</p><p>"Girls, your dormitories are on the right, boys on the left. Now, just because tomorrow is Sunday doesn't mean you've got to sleep in. I recommend walking around the school so you can get familiarised with it. Good night." The male prefect said, joining his friends and walking to the left door.</p><p>Older students were already making themselves at home, sitting in the tables and chatting. Pauline started to make his way to the right door, followed by Charlie who had to drag Luana, since she was still looking at the ceiling.</p><p>"Oh boy, riddles to walk in? I better start carrying a pillow with me" Pauline said, climbing up the stairs. The first floor had 2 doors, one with names and another without. They concluded that each level meant a year.</p><p>"Sleeping is the least of it. Where are you going to change? Oh! We should start carrying our clothes with us." Charlie said.</p><p>"Hell, why even unpack? Just carry your trunk everywhere." Luana replied drily. Arriving at the 3rd floor they noticed that, this time the second door held names. In fact, it held their names.</p><p>"Huh" Luana said, pushing the door. "They must be spared rooms".  Inside, there were 5 beds, with the 3 closest to the windows with their trunks.</p><p>"I hate to say it, but you seem to be right" Pauline agreed, Luana turned to her, looking confused.</p><p>"Why you hate to say it?"</p><p>"You don't really need us feeding your ego anymore now do you."</p><p>"Just shut up and go to sleep."</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 4- 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I cannot believe you guys!" Pauline yelled, while running ahead of Charlie and Luana. Charlie could see Luana rolling her eyes as she tried to tie her tie. Charlie could understand Pauline's rage. It was the first day and they missed breakfast, which Henry had told them was important to attend since that's when they got their timetables. But in their defence, the day before had been very tiring.</p><p>Since yesterday was a Sunday, they decided to walk around the school trying to find most of the classrooms. Of course, they immediately got lost and had to beg a Gryffindor kid to go call Henry for them. Which, even if it meant being found and finding the right path to the Ravenclaw Common room (which led to Luana annoying Henry on how he knew where it was) it also meant having to hear Henry for the rest of the day.</p><p>Pauline kept her quick pace, muttering in French under her breath. Luana, just a few steps behind Charlie, kept imitating Pauline, but in Portuguese. Charlie, on the other hand, wasn't that annoyed. It was after all her first day and Charlie was weirdly excited.</p><p>Sure, on the day they arrived, Charlie felt nervous, but now, after a day of exploring with her best friends, she felt more at ease. After all, this school was nothing like Beauxbatons.</p><p>In front of Charlie, Pauline stopped near the doors to the Great Hall. When Charlie arrived next to her (followed by Luana), she saw the hall with almost no one, and worst, no professor Flitwick.</p><p>"Oh merde, we missed it! Now what?" Pauline whispered, her voice getting slightly louder, "Did you two really need to sleep those extra 30 minutes? Now look! We have no idea what classes we have and we're going to miss class on the first day!"</p><p>"Calm down, Line, there's a solution for everything." Luana said, looking to the professor's table, "I'm sure a student around here can tell us where Flitwick's office is."</p><p>"Or," A voice interrupted from behind them. The girls quickly turn, and were greeted with Henry. "You get your timetables from me." He said, showing them the papers.</p><p>Charlie grabbed the timetables, while Pauline hugged Henry while thanking him (In French, meaning Henry had no idea what she said). Henry gave a quick look to the girls, and Charlie saw Luana mouthing what Pauline was saying. As Pauline's speech turned to excited and relived squeals, Luana simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head in confusion and went back to trying to fix her tie.</p><p>Charlie looked at the timetables. All three had first Potions with the Hufflepuffs. Charlie wasn't the best at it, but still managed better than Luana, who normally got frustrated with the exact measurements. Finally, Pauline stopped crying in pure relief and grabbed her timetable.</p><p>"Honestly Line, you didn't need to do all this, we had a plan anyway" Luana said, while making the weirdest knot Charlie had ever seen.</p><p>"Yes, a pretty shitty plan, just thank Henry for saving us" Pauline said, now inspecting Charlie's and Luana's timetables. Luana rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Oh, Thank you so much Henry! Now instead of having to listen about falling asleep, I'll hear about how my plans are shite."</p><p>"Well that one was pretty shite." Henry grinned as Luana narrowed her eyes.</p><p>"Why are you still here? Don't you have class?"</p><p>"I in fact don't. Well, I was supposed to have but I dropped it."</p><p>"Aunt Beatrice won't like that." Charlie said in a singing tone.</p><p>"Then don't tell her" Henry said, imitating Charlie's tone.</p><p>"Well, these timetables aren't that bad. We mostly have classes with Hufflepuffs." Pauline interrupted, handing Luana her timetable.</p><p>"Good, they're normally pretty groovy people."</p><p>"Groovy? What are you, a hippie?" Luana quibbed. Henry narrowed his eyes at her, which actually was a pretty ridiculous look on Henry. Serious expressions don't suit him.</p><p>"I am not taking any sass from someone who can't even tie her own tie." At this Luana's eyes widen and she started to frantically point to Henry's unmade tie.</p><p>"Neither can you!"</p><p>"Oh yes I can, I just choose not to as an act of rebellion."</p><p>"Act of- What? Man, you either are a rebel or you aren't, you cant pose as it" Luana replied, as she started to walk away from the Great Hall. Henry, who seemed incredibly offended at the remark, started to follow her throwing jabs on how he was not a poser.</p><p>Charlie and Pauline shared a look. Both Henry and Luana were stubborn and loved to get the last word, meaning this would never end. They decided to simply follow them, since even if Luana clearly had no idea where she was going, Henry kept shoving her in the right hallways when she made a wrong turn (Which then started a fight about how Luana could very well find the way without his help).</p><p>"I feel like those two will end up very good friends and gang up on us" Charlie heard Pauline say, as they both look at the two in the front, arguments forgotten and now just cracking jokes.</p><p>"Merlin, what a nightmare that would be."</p><p>"Hey" Charlie turned to Pauline, who had a nervous look on her face. Her hands kept tugging at her shirt.</p><p>"Hey" Charlie repeated, nudging Pauline a bit.</p><p>"After potions... Me and Luana will have Runes. You're sure you can handle Arithmancy alone?" Pauline asked, but before Charlie could respond Pauline started to rant.</p><p>"Well, I mean I know you can, don't get me wrong, it's just it's the first day, and I hate that we'll be separated already, and I know you'll do great but I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed or pressured to make friends already or-"</p><p>"Line." Pauline stopped and looked at Charlie, who side hugged Pauline. "Don't worry about me. I'll just sit next to some loner and take them under my wing."</p><p>"So, basically how you two met me."</p><p>"Exactly! But you're the only introvert in my heart" Charlie set a hand over her heart, making Pauline snicker.</p><p>"Hey you two" Henry yelled. "Move it, your class already started."</p><p>As they walked closer, they notice that Luana was again struggling with her tie.</p><p>"Oh, for fucks sake" Henry said, slapping Luana's hands away, and fixing her tie. Luana crossed her arms and scowled.</p><p>"I don't need you to do it."</p><p>"Well, you need someone to do it, since you clearly don't know how to do it."</p><p>"Maybe I do know, I just didn't feel like it." Luana said as Henry finished. Henry hands went to his hips and gave Luana a dead pan stare.</p><p>"You were doing a bow tie, and before that you were just making a big ball with the tie."</p><p>Luana's scowl deepened, but before she could reply Charlie grabbed her arm and pushed her in the direction of the door.</p><p>"Don't" Charlie simply said, and Luana pouted. Charlie turned to Henry, who was clearly waiting for a thank you.</p><p>"Thank you!" Charlie said, followed by Pauline. Luana simply flipped Henry off. Unfortunately, Pauline saw it.</p><p>"What?" Luana asked after seeing Pauline's face.</p><p>"He's being nice, don't be like that."</p><p>"He's being annoying, you just don't realise it since he isn't with you"</p><p>"Well of course not, I'm not stubborn enough to keep replying until I get the last word."</p><p>"Girls come on." Charlie interrupted. "We're already late."</p><p>Charlie wasn't thankful for much during life, but when things happened like she hopped, she was very thankful for even existing. For example, right now Charlie tried to open the door to the classroom without attracting attention and somehow, by Merlin's grace, she managed just that.</p><p>Even better, was the empty table right next to the door, with three empty places. Charlie felt that Merlin himself saw the train wreck that was the beginning of the day and decided to make the rest easier for her.</p><p>Sadly, the blessing didn't last long since Pauline accidentally hit a chair when the girls finally reached the table. Charlie honestly thought a big entrance might have been less embarrassing. Luana pushed Pauline into her chair, in the middle of both girls, and kept looking around probably to someone to beat up. Charlie tried to casually kick Luana to make her stop, but hit Pauline instead, who yelped loudly.</p><p>Looking around, most Ravenclaws just rolled their eyes, and some Hufflepuffs awkwardly smiled or ignored the girls in general. Thankfully, the professor showed up, so all eyes left the girls.</p><p>The professor was a big bellied man, bald and with a thick moustache. The professor looked very cheerful to start the term, which seemed to contradict the classes mood of wanting it to be summer already.</p><p>The professor, who introduced himself as Professor Slughorn, started to quickly rant about what they would do during the year.</p><p>Pauline was already taking notes at high speed, trying to hide her face with her hair. Luana was somehow still paying attention, something Charlie knew wouldn't last long with Luana's short attention span. Since Pauline was paying attention, Charlie decided to look around a bit.</p><p>The classroom itself was nice, even if it was in the dudgeons. It was a bit drifty, but at least it was clean and the tabled allowed around 4 people per table. Charlie tried to casually glance to her left side, where a Ravenclaw student was sitting.</p><p>The girl was very pale, with a lot of freckles. Her black hair was in a braid, but thanks to the baby hairs Charlie could tell the hair was very curly. The girl seemed to be very interested in class, so maybe right now wasn't the right moment to ask her name.</p><p>Sadly, the right moment never came. During the entire class, the girl seemed to never loose her attention of Slughorn, something even Pauline couldn't achieve.</p><p>However, just about the end of the class, the girl turned, and looked Charlie in the eyes. At the moment, Charlie, who was caught in the act of staring, noticed two things: This girl had some of the prettiest eyes Charlie has ever seen, and she looked very annoyed.</p><p>"Can you stop?" The girl whispered.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Charlie, I'm ne-"</p><p>"Yeah, I don't care. You're distracting me, so please stop." The girl turned to the front again, sighed and continued to take notes.</p><p>Charlie could feel her face red and looked around. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed. Pauline and Luana were writing between each other, probably another game they invented. And everyone else in the class didn't exactly seem to care about the presence of these 3 girls.</p><p>Charlie felt a bit sad about it. She was hoping to at least make some friends, especially in the classes she'll be alone. But she forgot that at this point, everyone already has their clicks made and friends. It isn't as easy as it was in first year.</p><p>Thankfully the class ended up soon, and Charlie got wrapped up with helping Pauline find her quill and didn't need to worry about the Ravenclaw girl.</p><p>"Christ, I thought I would die in that class" Luana said, as she finished packing her bag.</p><p>"I know" Pauline grumbled. "Classes in English are so weird. Honestly how did you two put up with French classes for two years?"</p><p>"Well some of us didn't have a choice" Luana mumbled.</p><p>"Shut up, yes you did. There were classes in just about every language-"</p><p>"Yeah well, that's too easy." Charlie tried to smack Luana, who just laughed and moved out of the way.</p><p>"Where's the next class?" Pauline asked, while looking at her timetable. Luana read over Pauline's head.</p><p>"Why can't they just put the numbers next to the doors?" Charlie complained, looking around the hallway. She thought that maybe she could ask a student around, but everyone seemed to be in their own world, barely noticing the girls.</p><p>"Oh, I wish your cousin was here." Pauline said, nervously looking around. Luana rolled her eyes, and Charlie had to agree. She didn't want to rely on her cousin for every little thing. After all, he also probably had to help Anne.</p><p>"Oh, please. We can survive without that idiot bothering us for a minute."</p><p>"He only bothers you Lu, because you let him."</p><p>"I don't let him! How dare you?"</p><p>"Well, maybe just don't feel the need to get the last word every time-"</p><p>"Whatever, class is about to start."</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes, the day Luana would admit she was wrong was the day Merlin would come back to life.</p><p>"Okay, I think our class is this way-" Pauline said, pointing to her left. "And yours is that way" She pointed to her right.</p><p>"Alright. So I'll see you idiots at lunch?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"You bet. I'm not planning on missing lunch. See you in a bit" Luana replied, already dragging Pauline down the hallway.</p><p>Charlie sighed, and started to go down the opposite hallway. After a few turns, she decided she was really lost. Looking around, she tried to talk to someone and ask for directions.</p><p>Everyone seemed to be on a rush, which made sense since the next period was starting. Would it be bad if she asked someone to stop? Probably, since everyone around is clearly also late.</p><p>"Hey, you!" Charlie heard. She turned around and she saw the new caretaker. Just like the first day, he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than here.</p><p>"What you're doing? Trying to skip class?" He asked. No matter how much Charlie tried, she could not remember his name.</p><p>"Uh, no. I'm new, I don't know where my class is." The man gave her what had to be the creepiest smile Charlie ever saw.</p><p>"Well then, better find it out quick. If I return here and see you still around, I'll have to give you detention for skipping won't I?" And just like that, the man left, snickering to himself. Charlie scowled. What kind of people does this school hire?</p><p>"Twat." Charlie whispered to herself and decided to leave the hallway fast when she saw the man stop walking. Charlie ran down the hall to her left and collided with someone.</p><p>They both fell, and Charlie could see it was an older student, with a scowl on his face. On his green robes, a prefect pin was placed.</p><p>"Watch where you're going!" He reprehended, getting up and dusting himself. Charlie got up too, holding her arm. Her elbow had hit something and was now hurting.</p><p>"Sorry, I was looking for my class and I-" However Charlie didn't get to finish, since the student interrupted.</p><p>"What do you mean? You don't know where it is?" He asked, crossing his arms and examining Charlie.</p><p>"Well I'm new you see, and I'm supposed to go to classroom 7A but I have no idea where there is."</p><p>"7A? Arithmancy?" The student narrowed his eyes "You're a third year then?"</p><p>"Yes!" Once more, the prefect examined Charlie for a while. Eventually he nodded and starting to go down the hallway.</p><p>"I'll take you then. Let's go."</p><p>Turns out, Charlie wasn't even on the right floor, much less the right wing. The walk took a while, and Charlie was sure she lost the first 5 minutes already. The very first day, and she managed to be late to both her classes.</p><p>"What's with the face?" the prefect asked, narrowing his eyes once more. "Wouldn't be sad because you were planning on skippin' now would you?"</p><p>"What? No I just... It's the first day, and I'm already late. What kind of message does that send?"</p><p>"Oh!" The boy said, blinking owlishly "You're actually new? I thought you said that as an excuse."</p><p>"Excuse to what?"</p><p>"To not being in class. Sorry about that, kid. And don't worry, I'll tell Professor Vector I hold you up. She normally doesn't like it when students are late, but she's got a soft spot for me" The boy winked. Charlie cracked a smile, mostly to assure the boy she was fine.</p><p>After a few more turns, the boy finally stopped in front of what Charlie assumed was the classroom. He knocked and opened the door.</p><p>The boy, Thank Merlin, did in fact take the blame for her tardiness, and even gave her a discreet thumbs up as she walked in. The professor thinned her lips and nodded for her to sit, immediately continuing her lecture.</p><p>There weren't many places available, only two in fact. One, next to a Hufflepuff who glared at her when she tried to sit next to her, and an empty table behind said girl.</p><p>Dejected, Charlie sat by herself, which at first, she tried to justify to herself as better since she could concentrate, but almost to the end of the class, Charlie couldn't focus anymore.</p><p>What has she done to make that Hufflepuff girl so mad? Honestly, they didn't even know each other!</p><p>Charlie looked up, and to the table in front of her, where the Hufflepuff girl was still in a bad mood. After some more staring Charlie notice that the girl wasn't staring at nothing, but at two people two tables ahead: a Hufflepuff girl and a Gryffindor boy. The girl seemed to be talking nonstop, and making sideway looks to the back of the classroom, while the boy really looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.</p><p>Charlie guessed that's why the Hufflepuff girl glared at her; she was angry at the other girl. That at least made Charlie feel a bit better, knowing this anger wasn't about her.</p><p>The class ended a bit after that discovery, and Charlie was happy it was lunch time. She started to run down the hall but quickly realised that she had not being paying that much attention when the Slytherin prefect showed her the way. She had no idea how to get to the Great Hall.</p><p>Charlie decided to return to the classroom hallway, after all, maybe some student could help her?</p><p>The walk took less then 30 seconds, since Charlie didn't get that far ahead. Thankfully, 2 students were still close to the door. It was the girl and boy she saw in class. The poor Gryffindor boy looked like he wanted to leave but was afraid it wasn't polite.</p><p>Looking around Charlie didn't see anyone else. She really wanted to go to the Great Hall, but she was a bit afraid this girl would yell at her for the interruption.</p><p>Charlie's stomach grumbled and she decided she'd rather be yelled at then to starve. She started to walk in their direction.</p><p>"-I mean can you believe her? And now she's the one mad at me, like she didn't ruin my favourite sweater, honestly it isn't even about the sweater anymore it's about how she didn't even-"</p><p>"Sorry to interrupt." Charlie said. She didn't want to interrupt the girl, but she didn't really see an opening. The girl looked at her, and quirked a brow, while the boy looked relieved someone stepped in. "Can one of you give me directions to the Great hall? I'm lost."</p><p>"Yes!" The boy said. "I'll take you there, no problem!" He turned to the girl. "Tabitha, I hope you don't mind, and don't worry, everything will be fine." He didn't even wait to hear the end of the question. The boy quickly turned to Charlie and kept widening his eyes as a way to say, 'please let's go'.</p><p>"This way!" He said, running down to the opposite hallway Charlie went before. She had to jog a bit to catch on.</p><p>"Merlin's pants, thank you so much!" The boy said. "I mean that was a bit lame of an excuse but I'm just glad someone picked up my distress signals."</p><p>"What? No, I'm actually lost."</p><p>"Oh" the boy said. "Even better, I guess. How come you're lost?" As the boy turned to her, Charlie did a quick look of him. The boy had sandy brown hair and brown eyes. This boy would be considered pretty normal in looks if it wasn't for a few scars he had. They looked pretty good on him, Charlie thought.</p><p>"I'm new, transferred from Beauxbatons. Me and two friends."</p><p>"Really? Weird, I'd figure Dumbledore would have announce it on the Feast."</p><p>"He said something about being discreet."</p><p>"Hmm" The boy, who had narrowed his eyes in thought before, relaxed his face and gave Charlie a awkward smile. " I guess I can understand. It would be a bit awkward to have everyone look at you during the feast."</p><p>"Yeah. I'm Charlie, by the way." Charlie stuck her hand, and as she glanced sideways, she could see the doors to the great hall. Great. She'd spent the way chit chatting and didn't memorized the route. Again.</p><p>The boy smiled. "I'm Remus, nice to meet you. And thanks for saving me out there."</p><p>"Any time." With that, they both arrived at the doors and Remus waved as he walked in and headed to the Gryffindor table.</p><p>After looking around, Charlie noticed that her friends were not in the Ravenclaw table. In the Gryffindor table, Charlie could see her cousin joking around with his friends, and Anne, who seemed to be chatting the ear off another excited Gryffindor girl.</p><p>After someone bumped into her, Charlie moved away from the doors and sat in a nearby bench- It was better this way anyway. If her cousin just so happened to see her alone, he'd come over and Charlie didn't want to bother Henry more than she already did.</p><p>The morning had been rough, she woke up with the hope of making a friend, but at most annoyed 2 girls and made an acquaintance. Some part of her hoped Pauline and Luana had the same problem as her, but she knew they probably didn't. After all, they had class together, so they didn't need to find someone to sit with.</p><p>Worst of all, Charlie was torn over the next class: Defence Against the Dark Arts. In any normal class, she'd asked Luana if she could sit alone so she could sit with Pauline -after all Luana didn't care- but Luana wasn't the best at DADA, and if she didn't have someone next to her who could actually make her pay attention, she'd fail the class pretty fast.</p><p>" What you looking at?" Charlie heard Luana's voice. She blinked, got up and looked at her friends. It was a bit funny to see only Pauline and Luana together side by side, since Pauline was tiny in comparison to Luana.</p><p>"Nowhere, just enjoying my time before your stupid face came back. How was your class?"</p><p>Luana shrugged but Pauline immediately started a rant about how fascinating Ancient Runes was. She got so into it that Luana had to keep steering her away from objects.</p><p>"And the professor! She just kept it all so interesting, even Luana didn't manage to get distracted."</p><p>"Yeah, what a blessing" Luana mutter while sitting down. The Ravenclaw table was almost full already, but thankfully they managed to find a pretty good place.</p><p>"What about your class?" Pauline asked.</p><p>Charlie paused and she pondered on what to say. Everything the professor said seemed to have already left her mind.</p><p>"Oh. It was okay. I was a bit late, but a prefect showed me the way. OH! And some Hufflepuff girls were mad at each other."</p><p>Pauline thinned her lips and gave Charlie a disappointed look that reminded Charlie of her mother.</p><p>"Did you even pay attention to the actual class?"</p><p>"I tried!"</p><p>"Sure, you did." Luana quipped from Pauline's side, pilling mash potato on her plate.</p><p>"Oh, shut it, you're worse than me."</p><p>"Well someone had to be." Charlie rolled her eyes, and grabbed Luana's pumpkin juice.</p><p>"You don't even like this." She said and drank the cup. Luana's eyes were wide in outrage as Charlie finished and placed the cup back on Luana's reach.</p><p>"You can keep it now" She simply said, holding the cup like it was infested. Pauline snickered.</p><p>"Why must you be like this?" Charlie asked, a smile on her face.</p><p>"You know I don't like sharing. I don't want a cup filled with your saliva."</p><p>"It's not filled, unless you want me to spit on it."</p><p>"Gross, how does your family even handle you? If it was me, I'd made you sleep outside."</p><p>"They made me now they got to take care of me. It's their own fault for bringing me into the world."</p><p>"Merlin, I hope you never actually said that to your mum." Pauline said.</p><p>"I most certainly did."</p><p>"And..." Luana trailed after Charlie's response, quirking her eyebrow.</p><p>"And," Charlie continued, "I got grounded 2 weeks. Worth it though."</p><p>The girls snickered and Charlie could feel a smile on her face.</p><p>"Merlin if I said that to my mum, I don't think she'd ever speak to me again" Pauline replied.</p><p>"Oh, now that would be horrible, if she never spoke to you, I highly doubt she'll make us cupcakes." Luana said.</p><p>"Is that really what matters most in this situation?"</p><p>"To me it is, I love getting cupcakes from your mum on my birthday. Makes up for the horrible cake my grandma makes us eat."</p><p>"It can't be that bad." Charlie replied, as she pilled some more chicken in her plate. Luana stared at her like she was crazy.</p><p>"Last time she added a lemon peel to give it flavour and forgot to take it out. Eating a slice felt like I was walking on a minefield."</p><p>"Did you guys ever find it?" Pauline asked.</p><p>"Oh yeah. My brother bit it in half, made the funniest face but had to hide his disgust because of grandma."</p><p>Luana tried to imitate the look on her brother's face but ended up looking more like someone had chopped her foot off and force her to eat it. Charlie smiled and rolled her eyes, and nudge Pauline to do the same.</p><p>"Very funny, Lu."</p><p>"I know, it's my best trade."</p><p>"If that's your best trade can't imagine how the others are." Charlie mumbled and Pauline tried to hide her smile. Thankfully, Luana was too busy trying to decide between two desserts to hear Charlie.</p><p>Lunch was easily Charlie's favourite time of the day. She wished she could have spent the entire afternoon there, but Pauline recommended they left early to be able to find the class.</p><p>Charlie would never say it to Pauline, but she was right, since it took them the rest of the lunch period, 3 wrong turns and Luana yelling at an older student to help them to find the classroom.</p><p>It was nice to finally arrive before the time, as the girls got to see some of the people, they were having class with. They would share this class with the Slytherins who seemed to also keep more to themselves. After all, all these friendships were already formed 3 years ago.</p><p>Professor Wythe hadn't showed up yet, so Charlie used the moment to look around. She would have to stay in her own table for this class, and she hoped someone would sit with her. She was sure that if Luana saw her alone she'd force Charlie to switch. For some reason Luana decided Charlie needed more protection than Pauline, something that normally annoyed Charlie, specially since it only started to happen after the Moreau incident.</p><p>"So...Do you think they have the same policy here as in Beauxbatons? 'Cause it's almost 5 minutes..." Luana whispered.</p><p>"Shut up, we were late to our classes too" Pauline replied. Luana face's soured but nodded nevertheless.</p><p>"Oh Good!" The entire class turned to look at Professor Wythe, who seemed to be a bit out of breath. "You're all still here, perfect. Sorry I'm late! Got a bit distracted during lunch." Professor Wythe laughed and opened the door. As everyone went inside, Charlie looked at their DADA professor.</p><p>Professor Wythe seemed younger than most professors Charlie had seen around. The man had short blond hair, thick glasses and a constant nervous look. Charlie guessed this might be Professor's Wythe's first job, for him to be acting like this.</p><p>As the professor continue to drone on about why he was late, the class settled into their places.</p><p>Luana sat on one of the tables more in the back, followed by Pauline. There was an empty table behind them ( Charlie was sure Luana chose that place for that same reason), and Charlie immediately sat there.</p><p>Looking around, she noticed how most people seemed to ignore them. Charlie could feel herself getting disappointed. Maybe she was hoping too much of others. After all it's not like she made the effort, except in first period. Now remembering how that went, maybe it was best if she didn't bother anyone during this class.</p><p>Professor Wythe finally stopped talking, but only long enough to settle in his desk. Even from the very back, it was obvious the man was hyping himself up, since he kept moving his hands a lot like he was talking to someone else. Charlie could hear some snickers from the students all around her.</p><p>"Well, welcome class! My name is Elijah Wythe and I'll be your new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts- but you already knew that- uhh.." The professor trailed off. Luana looked behind her and met Charlie's gaze. Both girls shared a look, trying not to laugh at the teacher's awkwardness. Pauline kicked Luana (Who squealed a bit) and threw a warning look to the girls.</p><p>"You know" Professor Wythe started, " I, above all, want you guys to feel comfortable. This is a no judging area, we're all friends here! After all-" The professor leaned on his table, pushing his glasses onto his nose "I guess you could say I'm not like most professors, I'm a cool professor! And I want you guys to know you can always come to me if you need anything!" The professor finished. As he noticed how little the class seemed to care, he walked forwards.</p><p>"So, what do you guys say?" Professor Wythe said, extending his arms, and accidentally hitting his hand on the board. He yelped and cradled his hand.</p><p>"Ah, snaps." He mumbled, followed by weird cuss words, that actually sounded like he was trying very hard not to curse.</p><p>In front of Charlie, Pauline seemed to be chewing on her nails, either in concern for the professor or her future grade in this class, and Luana used the moment to turn to Charlie. Luana's face held an expression of both amusement and astonishment as she mouthed 'What the fuck?' to Charlie, who simply grinned and shrugged her shoulders.</p><p>The fun was interrupted however, when a student came in and accidentally banged the door too hard. Charlie turned to see.</p><p>The boy was in the same house as her and seemed very out of breath. He was pale and scrawny, with a mop of blond curls and an embarrassed expression as the entire class was now staring at him. From a few seats up front, Charlie heard snickering and turn to see some more boys in her house laughing. She guessed they were his friends.</p><p>"Sorry for the delay Professor" The boy said, sending an awkward smile to the professor who still held his hand against his chest. Professor Wythe smiled a big grin, but anyone could see he was still very nervous.</p><p>"No problem, I got here late myself! Happens to all" He said, and then quickly added. "But if you can please don't be late to my class guys, its just not very...funky" He laughed, but quickly stopped when he noticed no one else did.</p><p>"Well, why don't you sit down?" Professor Wythe said, as he finally sat down and tried to organize his papers quickly.</p><p>The boy quickly looked at the two only available places: one next to a Slytherin boy who was sneering at him and next to Charlie. He gave Charlie an awkward smile as he asked if he could sit down.</p><p>"Yeah, go for it" She said, and quickly cringed internally. Merlin could she sound any more awkward. The boy didn't seem to mind Charlie's inner battle and simply smiled.</p><p>"Thanks! Between me and you I don't think Avery likes me that much" He said, nodding his eyes in the direction of the Slytherin boy who sneered at him. Charlie frowned.</p><p>"Why wouldn't he like you?" She asked. The boy pursed him lips and looked into a distance, as if he didn't exactly know either.</p><p>" Just.. normal Slytherin things you know."</p><p>"I kind off don't, I'm new you see."</p><p>The boy's eyes widen, and he grinned at Charlie. He quickly grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously.</p><p>"No way! I'm sorry, I didn't even introduce myself! My name's Rory!" He let go of her hand. "So that's why I didn't recognise you. I was cracking my brain, 'how come you don't know someone in your own house and year Rory?', I was going mental over here." Rory took two big breaths and smiled.</p><p>"So, do you know the rest of the Ravenclaws yet?"</p><p>"Uh not yet" Charlie smiled awkwardly. Rory's eyes widen once again.</p><p>"What? They haven't introduced themselves yet? Oh, I'm not surprised, I mean you sat way back here, normally they like to seat more at front, as to not get distracted you see. But don't you worry, I'll introduce you to them! Some are a bit shy, but they re all good people!"</p><p>Charlie smiled at Rory's enthusiasm, but frowned a bit.</p><p>"I don't know, I don't want to bother. After all, I'm pretty sure I pissed off a girl earlier."</p><p>"In our house?"</p><p>"Yeah" Rory's eyes narrowed.</p><p>"What colour hair?"</p><p>"Uh, Black? It was in a braid, but it was curly." Rory face relaxed and his mouth opened to a 'ahh'</p><p>"Let me guess, she has freckles?" Charlie's eyes widen.</p><p>"Yes! You know her?"</p><p>"Yeah" Rory laughed, "That's Valentina Amory. Don't worry, she is like that to everyone, don't take it personally." Charlie frowned at that.</p><p>"Why is she always like that?"</p><p>"Well," Rory started, slowly taking his books out of his bag as to appear to be doing something, "She keeps trying to get to number one in our classes, but Evans' got that one in the bag. So, Amory just gets annoyed and stressed. The only person who can put up with it on the regular is her best friend, Cecilia Yates, but apparently they got into a huge argument during the summer and are not on speaking terms."</p><p>"Merlin." Charlie said. "How do you know all this? Was it a big fight?"</p><p>Rory shook his head.</p><p>"Not really, but Maeve Quinn told me all about it. You'll love her! She's really nice even if she is a huge gossip fan. Oh!" He said, eyes widening once more. "I'll introduce her later today! Before dinner, on the common room."</p><p>"Okay" Charlie simply said, trying to contain her joy.</p><p>"What school did you go before this one?" Rory asked, as he pretended to take notes on whatever Professor Wythe was saying. Charlie mimicked him.</p><p>"I went to Beauxbatons, in France."</p><p>Rory's eyes went wide.</p><p>"No way." He said breathlessly.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Well, how is it like? Is it super different from Hogwarts?" Charlie smiled at Rory's enthusiasm.</p><p>Turns out, Rory was a great company for DADA, even if it was mostly all just questions about Beauxbâtons. Still, Charlie got know her new friend a little better.</p><p>Rory was a halfblood who seemed to be enthusiastic about just about everything. He loved movies, ( "So does my dad! We used to make all day marathons when I was younger"), and quidditch ( "You're telling me, that you're related to Ellis? As in Quidditch Ellis?" "I think so? Is he actually that good?" "He's amazing! Have you never seen him play?" "Not really, Henry doesn't need help getting his ego tripled in size.") and could not tell a joke for the life of him ("Why did the turkey cross the street twice?" " I don't know, why?" "To prove he wasn't a chicken!").</p><p>Still, Charlie ended up laughing, mostly out of pity and mostly out of his expectant expression.</p><p>Before she knew it, class was over and both were going their separate ways, but not before Rory made Charlie promised to show up at the common room and to introduce him to Henry.</p><p>As everyone left the class, Charlie waited with Luana as Pauline tried to pack all her notes.</p><p>"Did you really take note of everything he said?" Charlie asked. Pauline rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Of course not, just what I thought was important."</p><p>"How did you manage to filter the bullshit to find anything of importance?" Luana asked and Charlie snorted at Luana's face of fake astonishment.</p><p>"Well, since you seem to be laughing at my notes, I'm sure you won't be asking for them a week before the exam?" Pauline asked.</p><p>Luana's eyes widen, but she quickly recovered.</p><p>"Of course not." She started, "I'll ask for them a day before the exam."</p><p>Pauline scoffed and started to scold Luana in a rapid French. Luana rolled her eyes and started to walk outside of the classroom.</p><p>"Line, please stop, I was really hoping I'd unlearn French in this school."</p><p>Pauline's eyes widen and then narrowed, and she spoke even faster.</p><p>"Mais quelle godiche. Merlin, tu es encore plus idiote que notre malappris de professeur. Sérieusement qui se plaint de sa propre mère en plein cours ?Il n'est qu'un simple gougnafier, je ne comprendrai jamais comment un simplet comme lui a pu être embauché *" Charlie eyes widen as Pauline's rant just turned into curses. After a minute more, she breathed deeply and closed her eyes.</p><p>"Okay" She simply said. "I'm better now. Do you guys want to check out the library before dinner?"</p><p>"Actually" Charlie interrupted, "You guys saw that guy sitting next to me?"</p><p>"Yeah" Luana replied. "Why? Is he there and you want to avoid him? 'Cause I can see why, he never stopped talking. He's half the reason why I got distracted during the class."</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Oh, like you need a reason to get distracted."</p><p>"Anyway" Charlie interrupted again. "He actually said he'd introduce us some people in our house!"</p><p>"Really?" Pauline asked, and then scrunched her face. "They're not like that girl in potions, are they? Because I did not like the attitude, she gave you" Charlie's eyes widen in surprise.</p><p>"What girl in portions?" Luana asked while looking ahead, trying to figure out which corridor led to the Common room.</p><p>"The girl who sat next to Charlie" Pauline simply replied.</p><p>"You saw that? You were talking with Lu! How di-"</p><p>"I see everything" She simply said. Pauline then grabbed Luana's arm.</p><p>"Wait, I think it's this way." Pauline led then to another corridor that did in fact look familiar.</p><p>"Well, Rory said that that girl- Valentina- was just super uptight about school, wants to be number one but someone always beats her."</p><p>Luana snorted. "Isn't that how it always goes?" But Pauline and Charlie ignored her.</p><p>"Hm, alright then. I guess we should make more friends. Wouldn't want your cousin to get annoyed of us always walking around him."</p><p>"Eh, trust me, he's annoyed me so much he owes me."</p><p>"He better." Luana grumbled. Charlie tried to trip Luana but failed, leaving Luana to drone on about needing new friends.</p><p>"Don't worry." Pauline said, "Maybe one of the other Ravenclaw girls will be able to put up with you." Pauline turned to Charlie with a curious look on her face.</p><p>"How about your friend Rory? Is he nice?" She asked.</p><p>Charlie felt taken back. She didn't exactly think about it, but she did manage do make one new friend today, who even promise her to introduce him everyone else. She smiled.</p><p>"Yeah" She replied, "He's pretty great."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N:  *Something along the lines of: "Are you serious you moron? Merlin, you're even stupider than that dumbass of a professor. Honestly who the fuck starts ranting about their mother during a class? What an incompetent asshole, how in the world did he even got hired is beyond my comprehension..." but also with French slang from the 70's.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 5- 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑦'𝑠 𝑒𝑔𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 (𝑂𝑟, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑟𝑦-𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rest of the week only got better: In Care of Magical Creatures the two Gryffindor boys that almost broke a door to talk to Henry managed to scare the unicorns Professor Kettleburn showed them.</p><p>Transfiguration was a big change for all the girls, since their old teacher was more relaxed than Professor McGonagall. Charms, on the other hand, was so relaxed that Charlie and Luana just talked the entire time.</p><p>On Wednesday, while Pauline was in Muggle studies, both Luana and Charlie talked with two of the girls Rory introduced them to: Althea and Maeve. Maeve, just like Rory said, was cheerful and always had some new gossip, while Althea was quieter and observant. Charlie figured that how Maeve got most of her gossip; she'd trust Althea and her all seeing eyes.</p><p>However, Wednesday also brought Charlie her worst moment: Astronomy class. Charlie was never a big fan of Astronomy, and the fact that it was at midnight just made it worse. Thankfully, she'd only lost 10 minutes of the class since Luana kicked her awake when she noticed.</p><p>Thursday was Charlie's favourite day by far: Her first class was Herbology, which was Charlie's best class. Luana always said that it was kind of weird how Charlie could not tell which star was which but could tell plants apart.</p><p>Friday, however, had Charlie nervous again. Their only class was double History of Magic, a class that Luana excelled and Pauline didn't. Naturally, the two sat together, so Luana could help Pauline. Charlie was hoping some of her new Ravenclaw friends could sit with her, but Rory would sit with Maeve and Althea with sit with Sophie Espey, the other Ravenclaw Rory introduced her to.</p><p>At least this time they weren't late, since Rory was nice enough to show them the way.</p><p>At first Charlie could see the girls thought something was off about Rory, after all no boy would decide to hang around new people instead of his own friends with no reason whatsoever. However, after a small talk with Maeve, it all came clear.</p><p>Turns out, Maeve and Rory knew each other as children, when Rory used to live in Ireland. Even then Maeve said Rory was a bit awkward and tended to be a push over. She also said that made it hard for him to make some new friends. Charlie could see how a kid whose best friend is Maeve, who is a very social person, could feel a bit left out.</p><p>During the walk, Rory chatted mostly about what new movies would come out this year, and how he'd use the Christmas break to see them all. Luana and Charlie joined in when they could, but let Rory lead the conversation, especially after Pauline made a comment on not knowing many muggle movies. Rory's face was priceless as he started a rant about the movie industry.</p><p>As they arrived at the classroom, Charlie noticed that this class would not be shared with the Hufflepuffs, like most of their classes. Instead, they would share it with the Gryffindors, something Charlie thought it was weird, since Henry was always commenting on how he mostly just shared classes with Slytherins.</p><p>Professor Binns finally arrived, and Rory looked at the girls, as if to try and spot some surprised. Truth be told, if Henry had not told them that the professor was a ghost, Charlie would have been pretty shocked.</p><p>As everyone walked in, the girls were forced to keep walking. Normally, they would sit in the very end of the class, but the two morons from Care of the Magical Creatures sat there. In front of them, sat Remus, the boy who had helped Charlie on Monday.</p><p>Not many tables were left, so Charlie signed Luana to take the one in front of that. Facing herself, Charlie walked to the available seat next to Remus.</p><p>"Hey, mind if I sit here?" She said. She noticed the two boys behind him seemed weirdly attentive to their conversation. Remus looked up and he smiled, making Charlie relax more.</p><p>"Hey! You're that Ravenclaw girl." He said, moving his things away to make space. Charlie smiled and rested her bag in the table.</p><p>"Yes. I am in fact, that Ravenclaw girl. How are you?"</p><p>"I'm good, huuh.." Remus trailed, and the boys behind them snickered. Charlie ignored them.</p><p>"Charlie." She said, and Remus threw her an apologetic look. The Boys behind them laughed harder and Charlie was really thinking on docking one, when Remus glared at them.</p><p>"Either you two shut up or I'm telling my new friend here what you called Ellis yesterday."</p><p>One of the boys- the one who didn't even bother tying his tie- went pale as his eyes widen to the size of plates. The boy next him- who had the weirdest hair Charlie had ever seen- snorted at his friend's face, which made said friend glare at him.</p><p>"Shut up" He said to the laughing boy. He soon turned to Remus with the best puppy dog eyes Charlie had ever seen.</p><p>"I'll behave, there's no need for that Remmy." Charlie quirked an eyebrow as Remus scowled.</p><p>"How many times do I need to tell you not to call me that?" The boy smirked as he knew Remus wouldn't probably say nothing now (which saddened Charlie very much.)</p><p>"As many as you want." The boy turned to his other friend and the two continued talking about quidditch.</p><p>Remus turned to Charlie and smiled awkwardly again.</p><p>"Sorry about them."</p><p>"It's fine, my friends would probably do the same", Luana would at least, Charlie thought.</p><p>"Can I ask you something?" Charlie asked. Remus turned more serious and nodded. Charlie leaned a bit in, as if telling a secret. Remus did the same and looked even more serious.</p><p>"Is this class as boring as they say?" Remus laughed a bit, and then nodded. Charlie pouted, she was hoping her cousin's opinion was, once again, very biased.</p><p>"Well that's a bummer, how am I supposed to stay awake?"</p><p>"You're not. Trust me it's pretty impossible. The only two person who manage are Amory," Remus pointed to Valentina on the very first row, "And Evans." He then pointed to a red-haired girl, in the second row who was chatting with a Gryffindor brunette.</p><p>"Poor girls." Charlie said. Remus chuckled and continued to take his things.</p><p>Turns out, Remus isn't that bad of a company during class. He mostly kept to himself but did give some important information on the Gryffindors. The brunette sitting next to Lily Evans was Mary Macdonald who during their first year dropped a sack of Bouncing bulbs in Herbology and the class had to spend the rest of the class trying to collect them.</p><p>Behind Lily and Mary sat two Gryffindor's as well: Cassia Blishwick and Marcellus Cornfoot. Remus didn't need to explain much on them, since the two were snogging. Both Charlie and Remus felt that's all he needed to explain.</p><p>A few seats on their left, sat Peter Pettigrew, one of Remus's best friends, who was trying his luck with Eloise Chawla, also a Gryffindor. Looking at them, Charlie could tell Eloise wasn't very happy about the ordeal, but still smiled politely whenever Peter talked to her.</p><p>Behind them, were Remus's other best friends, James Potter and Sirius Black. Charlie could already tell the two were somewhat class clowns from the way they were acting (They started throwing pieces of parchment through Professor Binns whenever he turned around.), but Charlie was only really interested in one thing about them.</p><p>"So," she started, "What did Black called Ellis?" Remus quirked an eyebrow in disapproval.</p><p>"Sorry Charlie, but I'm afraid I can't tell you that. I promised Sirius I wouldn't"</p><p>"But don't you think I deserve that information?" Charlie asked, making her best puppy dog eyes. Remus rolled his eyes but didn't look very annoyed. Charlie assumed this was his default expression, considering his friends and all.</p><p>"Nice try. But they haven't done anything to you directly, if anything they made fun of me for not remembering your name." Remus expression sobered up, "Which by the way, I'm sorry, I'm not that great with names."</p><p>"It's fine, don't worry about it. I mean, I would consider it totally forgiven if you'd maybe tell me, but I'll let it go for now"</p><p>"Thanks, and I promise, if Sirius ever does anything stupid against you, I'll tell you."</p><p>Sometimes, Charlie really did feel more blessed than the usual person, since in that exact moment, a piece of parchment thrown by Sirius with the intend of going through professor's Binn's leg, hit Charlie in the head.</p><p>Charlie was very happy she didn't flinch, it would ruin the dead pan stare she sent Remus, as Sirius laughed.</p><p>Remus shot another glare at Sirius, who looked very offended by it.</p><p>"What? Am I supposed to apologise? She moved her head! That's on her." Sirius replied as James laughed.</p><p>Charlies lips thinned as she tried not to bang Sirius' head on the table as revenge. She did after all promised her mother not to hit any kids. It would be very bad if her mother got a letter about it after only a week of school.</p><p>Remus pursed his lips as he stared at Sirius. After a second more, Remus turned to Charlie.</p><p>"So," He said, loud enough for the boys behind to hear them. "Do you know who Henry Ellis is?"</p><p>"I think I've heard of him" Charlie replies.</p><p>Charlie heard a yelp from behind her and smirked as Sirius tried to slap a hand over Remus's mouth. Remus however simply moved out of reached and continued in a calm tone.</p><p>"Good. So, the other day James tried to hunt him down, to know when the quidditch try outs are, and Sirius decided to with since he idolizes Ellis." Remus continued, ignoring Sirius' pleads of sorry. Charlie's eyebrows reached her hairline, she couldn't imagine why on earth someone would want to idolize her cousin.</p><p>"Why?" She blurted, "Why would he idolize him? He seems like he's an idiot." Remus smirked as Sirius gasped, now looking at Charlie as she just murdered an infant.</p><p>"How dare you?" He said, positioning a hand over his heart. Clearly, this boy had a flair for drama. "Henry Ellis is the single most awesome bloke I ever met! Have you never seen him?"</p><p>"Oh, just once or twice around the school."</p><p>"Do you not see how cool he is? He is one of the best quidditch players in the school! And he's the only other person in this school besides me who knows how to dress!"</p><p>Charlie frowned. "Are you that big of a fan of his leather jacket?"</p><p>Sirius opened his mouth, but James interrupt him, "He bought a matching one."</p><p>"Yeah" Remus continued. "Sirius has a huge man crush on him -"</p><p>"-No I don't! -"</p><p>"Or so we thought until the other day, when Ellis complemented Sirius new leather jacket," Remus paused for dramatic effect, and to wait for James to stop snorting, "And Sirius was just so touched he said: 'Thanks dad!'. It's one of my fondest memories."</p><p>Charlie bit her lip, as to not laugh. She turned to Sirius and tried to talk without cracking.</p><p>"You called, a boy barely 2 years older than you, dad?" She asked.</p><p>"Well actually they only have a one year difference." James added. Charlie closed her eyes and tried to swallow the laugh that threaten to leave her.</p><p>"Yup, that's even better. Thank you, Remus, James, for this amazing tale." Charlie replied, using an overexaggerated posh tone. Both boys nodded in a similar posh manner.</p><p>"Why anytime Miss! Glad to help!" Said Remus, while shacking her hand. James followed suit, as Sirius just tried to hide behind his hand.</p><p>"Indeed! If you ever need any more embarrassing tale, do not freight in contacting us, Miss..?" James trailed and Charlie did her best not to smirk.</p><p>"Oh! Ellis." Sirius head shot up faster than both Remus' and James's eyebrows. Charlie smirked and continued, "Cannot wait to tell this one to my aunt."</p><p>"Perfect." Sirius grumbled. "Just perfect. Of all the people you had tell, you just had to go tell someone who's related to him. Thank you, Remus."</p><p>"No problem mate."</p><p>"So, wait." James said, a look of concentration on his face. "If you" He pointed to Charlie. "Are Ellis' cousin and he's Sirius' dad-" Sirius groaned. "What does that make you to Sirius?"</p><p>Charlie feigned an expression of deep thinking. "Hmm, why that's quite a good question Mr. Potter."</p><p>"Yes" James said, imitating the look on Charlie's face. "It is isn't it?"</p><p>Remus seemed very pleased with Sirius' embarrassment and Charlie was sure Sirius had embarrassed Remus way too many times.</p><p>Thankfully for Sirius, the bell rang, and the trio couldn't continue their teasing.</p><p>"Okay" Sirius said, quickly pushing his things back into his bag. Charlie was sure his ink bottle opened on the way but decided to remain quiet. "Very nice to meet you, please don't tell your cousin anything about this. Are you guys coming or what?" He said. James and Remus had barely even grabbed their bags, but Sirius had already grabbed the arm of Peter who had wandered to the tables and left quickly.</p><p>"Ah pity." James said. "I just remembered a few more embarrassing things he's done."</p><p>"Hmm." Remus hummed. "I can think of a few ones about you too-"</p><p>"Okay, bye! Nice to meet you" James said, quickly leaving the room. Remus smirked.</p><p>"They're weirdly nicer than I thought." Charlie said.</p><p>"Yeah, when they want to, they can be, you're just lucky you stubbled on one of James' favourite topics: making fun of Sirius."</p><p>"Part of me tells me to feel bad for him, but the other remembers how hard he threw the parchment."</p><p>"Oh, don't feel bad, his favourite topic is to also make fun of James, it's always very fun."</p><p>Charlie laughed. "I can see that. 'Till next time Remus."</p><p>"Bye" He said and left the class.</p><p>Charlie still had to wait a bit, since Luana took a very long time packing, but once she was done, the girls were almost running to the Great Hall.</p><p>"Ugh" Pauline complained while sitting down at the Ravenclaw table. "I thought that class would never end. Can't wait to go to the dorm and just fall head first in my bed."</p><p>"Same, I might sleep all day." Luana mumbled.</p><p>"What a shock." Charlie replied. Luana stuck her tongue playfully and started to fill her plate.</p><p>"Not all of us get to sit next to someone and chat the class away."</p><p>"Oh!" Charlie replied, perking up. "Yeah I got news! I know the names of the Gryffindor's in our year."</p><p>Charlie explained everything Remus told her ( leaving the story with her cousin out, she'd keep that for maybe future blackmail.) and tried to discreetly point each person she knew the name of from her place in the Ravenclaw table.</p><p>By the end, Luana scoffed.</p><p>"How come when you sit next to someone, they tell you all the nice gossip, but when I do it it's some weirdo who never shuts up about bugs."</p><p>"Well" Pauline started, "Maybe if you didn't actually call them weirdos to their faces they would be nice."</p><p>"I don't see why you shouldn't. After all you didn't have to endure a lecture on how we actually need mosquitos to survive"</p><p>Charlie scrunched up her face. "You can't possibly be serious?"</p><p>"Oh, I am. He delved into why the ecosystem needs them and blah blah blah. I don't think I ever bolted out of a classroom so fast."</p><p>"Oh, I disagree" Pauline intervened. "We all remember how fast you bolted when Finn Janssens started puking next to you during Herbology last year."</p><p>"Oh God, I remember! He just kept on! Didn't even tried to move, and the sounds he made" Luana shivered. "Let's just drop it, I've been looking forward for this meal, I'd like to actually eat it."</p><p>"When aren't you?" Charlie asked, smirking. Luana narrowed her eyes playfully and threw a piece of bread to Charlie's plate.</p><p>"Very talkative today, aren't you? God forbid you butt in this much when I need you to back me up against Line" Luana nodded her head in Pauline's direction, who was leaning her entire head in her hand, almost asleep.</p><p>"Maybe it's because I think she's right." Charlie laughed at Luana's shocked face. Luana turned to Pauline and shook her.</p><p>"What?" Pauline asked.</p><p>"I want attention and Charlie's being mean."</p><p>"Good." Pauline replied, going back to leaning on her arm. Luana held a hand over her heart.</p><p>"Well, I'd never imagine, my own two best friends!"</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes and threw Luana's piece of bread back.</p><p>"Shut up and eat."</p><p>Luana smirked and shook Pauline once again. Pauline glared at Luana who simply pointed at Pauline's empty plate. Slowly, Pauline started to fill it and to eat.</p><p>"Ah" Luana said, "What would you two do with me?" She said. She turned on her side and looked at Charlie, most likely expecting a answer, but her eyes left her quickly and focused on something behind Charlie. Luana's smirked shifted to a scrunch.</p><p>"Oh boy, this can only be good" She muttered.</p><p>"What?" Charlie asked and turned her gaze to her right. A few steps away from them, was Henry with a grin too big to have. Charlie already knew something bad was going to happen.</p><p>Good afternoon ladies" Henry said, deciding to make himself at home by sitting between Charlie and Luana (who complained about having to move).</p><p>"Hi, what do you want?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Why do you always think I want somethin'?"</p><p>Charlie sent him a deadpan stare.</p><p>"Alright. The quidditch try-outs are tomorrow and I wanted to know if you want to come see your cousin bossing people around" henry smiled.</p><p>"Damn, I wonder how that looks like" Luana quipped, and smiled when Henry sent her a glare.</p><p>"Why do want me to go? Don't you have friends?"</p><p>Henry scoffed.</p><p>"Of course, I've got friends, but for some reason they thought that waking up at 7am to go see their own quidditch team was a ridiculous thing to ask and said they rather die than to go."</p><p>"Smart people" Luana mumbled, followed by a yelped. She glared at Pauline who was sending her a warning with her eyes.</p><p>"Any who" Henry said, ignoring Luana and Pauline "Will you go or not?"</p><p>Truth be said, Charlie didn't really feel like waking up at 7 on a Saturday just to sit on a cold bench all morning, but Henry gad been so helpful these last few weeks, it would be mean of her to deny him support on something he was clearly very passionate about.</p><p>"Sure" she finally said. "We'll be there."</p><p>"I'm sorry, we?" Luana interrupted, looking at Charlie with alarming big eyes.</p><p>"Yes Lu, we." Luana pouted.</p><p>"But he's your cousin! Why do I have to suffer?" She replied childishly.</p><p>"I'm right here you know" Henry said. Luana looked at him and stuck her tongue out. Henry rolled his eyes but smiles nevertheless.</p><p>"Because, Henry has helped us all and he's been on his best behaviour for our sake."</p><p>"It's true" Henry interrupted, "I'm normally way more annoying."</p><p>"Can't even imagine that" Luana mumbled, while eating some bacon.</p><p>Pauline glared at her with her warning face of 'be nice'. Luana gave a deep breath and forced a big yellow grin onto her face.</p><p>"Can't wait to wake up super early on our first weekend off to see a try out for someone else's team! So happy for you." She said, gritting her teeth. Henry grinned a grin almost as big's as Luana's as stole a bit of bacon from her plate. Luana's face quickly morphed into shock.</p><p>"Oh, I know you are." He said, taking a bite of the bacon. Luana opened her mouth, an angry look quickly showing on her face. Henry, the smart ass, quickly got up and away from Luana's reach.</p><p>"Well, don't forget! The try-outs technically start at 8am, but I'm guessing it'll be packed so get there earlier to find a good spot!" He said, quickly leaving.</p><p>"God, I hope he falls" Luana mumbles and she eats her bacon. Charlie and Pauline share an exasperated look. Charlie didn't know what was worse: When Henry and Luana endlessly teased one another or when they ganged up and teased them.</p><p>+++</p><p>"I fucking hate your cousin." Charlie heard Luana grumbled and she had to admit, this time she was right.</p><p>Just like he asked, the girls got up extra early to be at the quidditch stadium at 7:30am. But of course when they got there, the stands were empty.</p><p>"Can't believe we had to skip breakfast for this. Lu, you're allowed to be as mean as you wish to him."</p><p>"Oh, you can bet I'll be."</p><p>Since they had plenty of place to sit, the girls decided to sprain themselves at the front seats of the Gryffindor side of the bleachers. Pauline decide to not stay leaned in for long since it made her sleepy. Charlie and Luana however did not find that a problem, as they leaned as far as they could go. In fact, Charlie got so comfortable that she fell asleep.</p><p>She didn't get to the point of actually starting to dream, since when she started to form one, Pauline shook her awake.</p><p>"C'mon, it's about to start...I think. Plus, it's pretty embarrassing to be sitting with you guys snoring."</p><p>"Shut up, I don't snore" Charlie replied, quickly cleaning her mouth to her jacket sleeve in case she accidentally drooled. It made perfect sense to her, after all, when better than when she accidentally falls asleep in public?</p><p>"Yes, you do." Charlie heard, but it wasn't Pauline's voice, it was Anne's. Charlie blinked and looked around, taking in her surroundings.</p><p>A few more students had arrived, probably friends of the people trying out. Charlie could see a few girls older squealing to her far left and on her far right, she saw three Gryffindor students she recognised: Remus, Sirius and Peter.</p><p>Charlie focused on her closer surroundings and saw Anne sitting next to Pauline. Anne looked way too chipper for someone who woke up early willingly on a Saturday. Her brown hair was in two braids, and on top of those she wore her Gryffindor beanie, which was nuts since it was the beginning on September.</p><p>On her left side, Charlie could see Luana was still sleeping, with her arm covering her eyes from the sun.</p><p>"How long was I out?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Barely 40 minutes, I'm not even surprised this is starting late." Pauline replied. She looked to Charlie's side and frowned.</p><p>"Do me a favour and wake up Luana."</p><p>Charlie tried, she really did, but Luana only ended up slapping her hand away as she muttered something in Portuguese. Shrugging in Pauline's direction, Charlie decided not to bother Luana anymore, it wasn't like she was dying to see this anyway.</p><p>On the bleachers, Charlie could barely see which one was her cousin. There was a small concentration of people in the middle of the pitch, all warming up.</p><p>"Hello" Charlie turned to see Remus, who smiled and introduced himself to Pauline (Who, thanks to being shy around new people, simply blushed and nodded) and Anne who widen her eyes and giggled. Remus, clearly uncomfortable, cleared his throat and tried to sit in a way as not to disturb Luana.</p><p>"Just came to ask, in the behalf of someone, if you told you cousin about what happened." Remus said. Charlie leaned on her seat and looked to where Sirius and Peter were glaring at them. She smiled and waved.</p><p>"Nah, I mean what would be the point? Henry was there, he heard it."</p><p>"Sirius is in denial, didn't help that Ellis pretended not to hear."</p><p>"He must really like Sirius then; I can't see why my cousin would be that considerate to some bloke."</p><p>"Oh, don't tell Sirius that, he won't shut up all day."</p><p>Charlie laughed. To her side, both Pauline and Anne exchanged looks of confusion, but Charlie ignored them.</p><p>"So, is that why you lot are here? Because Sirius dragged you?"</p><p>"If only. No, James is trying out for Chaser. He's been talking about it nonstop since last year." At that Charlie frowned.</p><p>"Then why didn't he try out last year?"</p><p>"Eh, the only position that opened up was seeker, and he was dead set on chaser."</p><p>"Bummer." Charlie replied, not really knowing that to say. "You lot want to watch the try outs with us?"</p><p>Remus was silent for a second, but then nodded.</p><p>"Sure, why not, beats having to hear Sirius talk nonstop."</p><p>"Doesn't anything?"</p><p>Remus laughed and turned his face to where his friends were. He nodded them over, and Charlie could see hesitation in the two boys' movements. Eventually, they started to walk over.</p><p>If Charlie thought her sister wearing a beanie in September was stupid, she certainly thought this two went over the top with showing Gryffindor support. Peter was wearing his beanie and scarf, face painted in Gryffindor colours. Sirius had a few stripes painted on his cheeks, and his Gryffindor scarf.</p><p>"Morning boys" Charlie said. "This is Pauline, my sister Anne, and Luana" Charlie said, pointing to each girl has she introduced them.</p><p>Peter, who Charlie technically never met simply nodded and introduced himself to all the girls. Sirius, after seeing Anne in Gryffindor clothes, shook her hand, and simply nodded at Pauline. He then turned to Charlie and glared.</p><p>"Ellis" He said, nodding and narrowing his eyes. Charlie playfully imitated him.</p><p>"Sirius" She said, quirking an eyebrow in the end. "Came to support your father?"</p><p>Sirius glared at Charlie and then at Remus who snickered. Close to her, Charlie could see the confused look Pauline and Anne shared.</p><p>"You're hilarious." He simply said. Sirius sat down between Charlie and Luana ( Who made a complaining sound that went ignored) , getting too comfy in Charlie's opinion.</p><p>"So" He whispered. "Am I to assumed you immediately told your cousin about it?"</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes.</p><p>"No, I have not. I haven't told anyone actually." Charlie could see Sirius shoulders relax.</p><p>"But you do realise he must have heard you right?"</p><p>"Hush" Sirius replied, fixing his eyes on to the field. "Let me live in denial."</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes but turned her gaze to the try outs anyway.</p><p>Charlie hadn't been to many quidditch matches in her life. Her mother was always busy and wasn't a big fan of the sport, and her father still had no idea how the game worked ( which considering how many times Henry had tried to explain it was pretty hilarious). She had only been to two games in her life: in 1966 for the Quidditch world cup final, in which Australia won and in 1969 when Henry begged Charlie and her mum to go see his favourite team play. Charlie's mum couldn't go, but Auriane, Charlie's maternal grandma took them anyway.</p><p>Still, she knew the basics of the game ( since Henry would never shut up about it) and could understand somewhat what the players were doing. Above all, Charlie could see how much this try outs were making Henry's ego grow. Which made Charlie roll her eyes.</p><p>Whoever decided that giving Henry a position of power was a good idea needed to think again, this boy would never shut up now.</p><p>Worst of all, after glancing to the side, Charlie could see how Sirius thought it was amazing to see Henry arrogantly boss people around.</p><p>"Hey, I've got a question." She said. Sirius, not even diverting his gaze, answered.</p><p>"About what? Is it the drill, because I was a bit taken by at first too, but your cousin clearly knows his stuff, I mean just loo-"</p><p>"No, it isn't about that." Charlie interrupted before he could start a big quidditch rant. She figured she already heard enough for the rest of her life.</p><p>"Then what?" He asked, clearly a bit annoyed his full concentration wasn't on the try outs.</p><p>"Why do you idolise my cousin? Trust me he isn't all that."</p><p>Somehow, that got Sirius' full attention, who looked at Charlie with wide eyes. After a few seconds of shock, Sirius scoffed, looking very offended.</p><p>"I don't idolise your cousin!"</p><p>"I saw you on the train with James, you two almost broke the compartment door to talk to him."</p><p>"That's different."</p><p>"Oh, is it now?"</p><p>"Yes, we wanted to know the try outs date."</p><p>"You're not even trying out."</p><p>"So?"</p><p>"So, don't lie to me."</p><p>"I'm not!"</p><p>"You so are."</p><p>"Shut up".</p><p>"C'mon" Charlie bumped him with her shoulder. "Tell me the truth."</p><p>Sirius looked around, and sighed. After making sure Luana was really asleep ( by bumping her with his foot) he turned to Charlie.</p><p>"Promise not to tell?" He asked. Charlie tried her best to show how serious she was.</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"It's not a big deal, I just dig his style, I don't know. Plus, he was really welcoming to me when I first got sorted in Gryffindor. My family was all Slytherins you see, and I don't know, he even helped me out a bit last year when my brother came to the school and was sorted to Slytherin." Sirius replied. He had a weird habit to look around while he talked, like that would help him with the answer.</p><p>"Hmm." Charlie simply said, not knowing exactly what to say. "I think I get it; I mean he's always been there for me when I actually needed him. Just don't go around thinking he's perfection or something. Trust me, his ego doesn't need the extra boost."</p><p>"What are you talking about? He should get the extra boost! If I was that awesome, I would want everyone to tell me that all the time."</p><p>"Yeah, I can see why you two get along."</p><p>"I know! We're both so amazing. It'd kind off obvious two amazing stars in this school would become great friends." Sirius said, a bit smug.</p><p>Charlie laughed at the sheer arrogance. Merlin, and she thought Henry was bad.</p><p>"Stars, now are you?"</p><p>"Uh, yes? People named a star after me."</p><p>"Ew, that's where you get your name? You're named after a star?" For some reason, that seemed to insult Sirius more than anything. He quickly stuck his finger close to Charlie's face, as if scolding her.</p><p>"First off, a star was named after me. Not the other way around. And not just any star mind you, the brightest star in the sky." He ranted. Charlie simply nodded her head and hummed.</p><p>"Second of all, where did you think I got my name from?"</p><p>"I don't know, I figured you were just a very serious baby. Wizards are weird, how could have I known?"</p><p>"How could you not? Are you that bad at Astronomy?"</p><p>"Yes, actually, I am." Charlie said, feigning a look of smug satisfaction. Sirius rolled his eyes and scoffed.</p><p>" 'Serious baby' That's got to be the worst one yet I've heard. And you're one to talk, what kind of name is Charlie?"</p><p>"It's a nickname, you twat. My name's Charlotte."</p><p>"That's a stupid name." He said, Charlie guessed mostly out of stubborn. "And isn't the nickname for Charlotte normally Lottie?"</p><p>"Well, the last time someone called me Lottie I punched him in the stomach" She said. Sirius carefully inched closer to Luana.</p><p>"Plus, in France the nickname is normally 'Cha' but since my dad thought that was weird my family just went with Charlie." Charlie finished. Sirius brow furrowed.</p><p>"Why did he find it weird? And why does France even matter?"</p><p>"My mum's French- well, half French. But she still went to Beauxbâtons, like me, and wanted to name her kids French names. Thankfully, since my dad's English, she couldn't go full French or else he would have no idea how to pronounce it, which also answers your other questions. He kept saying it wrong."</p><p>Sirius eyes widen and he once again came closer to Charlie.</p><p>"Oh? So, you're French?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes and hit him hard in the arm. Sirius screamed a 'Hey!' and grabbed his arm.</p><p>"I'm a quarter French. So, at this point I'm barely French."</p><p>"Still counts." He grumbled.</p><p>"Don't make me hit you again."</p><p>Sirius laughed, raising his arms in surrender. "Alright calm down, I was just joking." He said, still chuckling.</p><p>The wind picked up and Charlie hid her freezing hands in the pockets of her jacket. Sirius imitated her, pouncing his leg to keep the cold away. Charlie had to curse Henry later, she couldn't wait for the try-outs to be over.</p><p>" It isn't that bad though." Sirius said suddenly. Charlie looked up at him, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Cha, I mean. It isn't that bad. Definitely better than Siri." Sirius shudder, and Charlie had to bite her lip not to laugh.</p><p>"Oh Merlin, who calls you that?"</p><p>"Ugh, my cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa. I'm pretty sure they live to annoy me in family gatherings."</p><p>"I see the great names run in the family."</p><p>"Oh, you haven't seen anything."</p><p>"There's worse?"</p><p>"My mother's name is Walburga."</p><p>"...You know in retrospect Sirius isn't that bad." Charlie said, and Sirius chuckled. Charlie snickered a bit too.</p><p>"But I'm still going to call you Siri, but it's your own fault really."</p><p>Sirius turned to Charlie, looking shocked.</p><p>"You cannot be serious."</p><p>"No, that's you, Siri." Charlie grinned as Sirius groaned, clutching his chest.</p><p>"My own joke," he started, "Used against me."</p><p>"I feel like you deserved it, probably used it too many times"</p><p>"Well, just so you know I actually haven't but just for that comment, you can bet I'll never shut up about it now."</p><p>"I mean, that's not such a threat now is it Siri? You never shut up anyway." Charlie replied and Sirius eyes playfully narrowed.</p><p>"Oh, trust me Cha, I can be plenty more annoying." Sirius smirked. Charlie could feel her mouth open in shock. Sirius took his hand out of his pocket and tried to close her mouth, but Charlie slapped his hand away.</p><p>"You did not just call me that." For some reason, that made Sirius grin even harder.</p><p>"Oh yes I have. If you are going to call me by an embarrassing nickname then so will I."</p><p>Charlie narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth, but at that exact moment cheers were heard in the pitch. All the players were once again on the ground, patting each other's backs on the good work during the try outs.</p><p>"I think it's over" Sirius said, looking between the people in the pitch. "It'll take a while before Ellis makes a decision. Merlin, I hope James gets it, it'd be hard to cheer him up this early in the morning."</p><p>"How long does it normally take?" Charlie asked and Sirius made a face of concentration. It was weirdly the weirdest face of concentration Charlie had ever seen, since his eyebrow instinctively raised.</p><p>"Well, depends really. The last Captain took 10 minutes last year but over 2 hours the year before. It depends on how many people they've got to consider you see. That aren't many trying out, and he already has the beaters and seeker from last year, so I hardly believe he'll replace them."</p><p>"Well, I hope this is fast, I'm starving."</p><p>Thankfully, the universe was on Charlie's side, since not even 20 minutes later, a figure that Charlie assumed was Henry came again on field. From here, Charlie had no idea what he said, obviously, but in the end, everyone shook hands with only 6 staying afterwards.</p><p>"I think he made it!" Sirius said. Both him, Remus and Peter were standing at this point, trying to see if any of the dejects was walking their way. When no one did, the boys seemed relieved and happy.</p><p>"Does this mean it's over?" Pauline asked. Charlie looked at her friends and had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Pauline was re-braiding Anne's hair, who looked happy to have someone touching her hair. It was always something Anne was bothering Charlie about.</p><p>"I guess." Anne said, not even bothering to open her eyes and look to the pitch. Pauline looked disappointed.</p><p>"Does that mean we have to move? I'm not done with the braids." Charlie looked around. The players were still talking on the pitch and Charlie didn't really feel like waking up Luana, who was a bit grumpy in the morning.</p><p>"Nah" She finally said, "Let them come to us."</p><p>For some reason, the boys assumed that 'us' also meant them, since they sat down around the girls. Thankfully, Sirius didn't try to squeeze himself between her and Luana anymore, and chose to sit on her other side, closer to Remus and Peter.</p><p>As everyone busied themselves while waiting, Charlie too, tried to find a way to have fun. She was halfway into painting a moustache on Luana's face when someone blocked the sunlight.</p><p>Turning, she saw not one person, but the three idiots who had been chit chatting.</p><p>"That looks fun." Sirius simply said, sitting on Luana's other side. Remus sat next to Luana's head while Peter sat next to him.</p><p>In the end, they all manage the draw something. Charlie, the very original person she is, drew a moustache, Remus drew a very artistic soul patch, Peter (who's apparently very good at drawing) drew a some funky monocle, chain and all. And of course, Sirius decided to really step it up.</p><p>"You know" Charlie said. "My sister is right there; I was trying to keep it pg-13"</p><p>"Good for you then." He said, as he finished his drawing. Peter snorted and Remus smiled but still shook his head in exasperation. Charlie simply decided to take the pen from his hands.</p><p>"You such a dickhead." She muttered, stashing the pen safely in her jacket's inner pocket. Sirius grinned.</p><p>"So is she." He said pointing at Luana- or more specifically at the drawing he did on Luana's face. Charlie rolled her eyes and was very proud of herself for not laughing at Sirius' corny pun.</p><p>"Guys!" They turned around, to see James swiftly run towards them.</p><p>"Guess what?!" He asked, but immediately answered. "I made it! I'm the new chaser! Oh, I cannot wait to tell my parents."</p><p>James' smile looked almost painful at how big it was, his hazel eyes sparkling behind his glasses. Charlie smiled and congratulated him, as the boys got up and hugged their friend. James, so high in euphoria, even hugged Charlie, Pauline and Anne, who blushed.</p><p>"Who else made the team?" She asked, while straightening her beanie.</p><p>"Bethia Jones, the 6th year, is the other chaser. The beaters are still Ansell and Glaspie, the new keeper is a 7th year named Erin Bryne and Shafiq is still the seeker." James replied, grinning like a mad man still. "They were all so nice to me."</p><p>"Well, they're your new teammates so they better be." Henry said, from behind James. Charlie could see Sirius straighten up and snickered. He glared at her, which didn't went pass Henry.</p><p>"Oh, I didn't know you all knew each other." Henry said, looking between the boys and Charlie.</p><p>"Somewhat." Charlie said at the same time Sirius replied with "We're friends."</p><p>"Good" Henry said, smiling. He patted Sirius' shoulder. "Because I know I can trust you to look after my cousin, Black."</p><p>"Excuse me, I don't need his help! I can look after myself!" Charlie said, but neither of the boys seem to listen to her.</p><p>Sirius, has soon as he heard Henry, shifted to an expression you'd expect if Merlin himself came down to earth and said you're the most splendid person ever. His eyes shined so much Charlie was afraid they became their owns stars and orbited Henry.</p><p>"You so can! I'm on it!" Sirius said. Charlie rolled her eyes and Henry chuckled. He went to hug Anne who tried to avoid it. He nodded at Pauline who did the same and then locked eyes with Charlie and smirked.</p><p>"Oh Merlin, please don't." She muttered, but Henry still came and gave her a bear hug.</p><p>"Oh, I knew you'd come! Did you see me out there? I was on fire! Especially when Ansell- Is that idiot sleeping?" He said, letting go of Charlie (Thank Merlin) and looking straight at Luana, who somehow was still asleep.</p><p>"Uh? Oh yeah, she stayed up late-again-and just fell asleep here." Charlie replied but she was sure Henry didn't even hear her. He had a look on his face that was both anger and incredulous.</p><p>Henry kicked the stand, but Luana simply scrunch a bit. Henry then kept kicking until Luana stirred and opened her eyes. She muttered something in Portuguese as she looked around. Finally, her eyes landed on Henry's angry pose.</p><p>"What?" She asked, clearly annoyed she was woken up. Henry quirked an eyebrow at her audacity.</p><p>"Did you sleep during the entire try outs?!"</p><p>"Well that depends, are they over?" She asked, getting up. Henry was clearly trying to hold the urge to scream. Apparently, he didn't like when someone didn't get to see him being an arrogant twat.</p><p>"Yes." He said through gritted teeth.</p><p>"Then yes, I did. Is it time for lunch? I'm starving."</p><p>Henry looked ready to fight Luana, but Charlie quickly got in the middle of the two.</p><p>"Me too, I'm starving! Let's go see what's for lunch!" She said, grabbing Luana's arm and getting her far, far away from Henry, who wasn't very used on not getting his way.</p><p>+++</p><p>The weekend seemed to pass way too fast for Pauline. First, she had to go to the try-outs for a quidditch team that wasn't even hers. And in the afternoon she managed to convince the girls to go see the library, which Pauline knows they were dying to see it too ( not that they would ever admit it). Sunday was such a lazy day that Pauline barely had time to finish her DADA essay.</p><p>Though, even if she didn't finish it, she was sure Professor Incompetent wouldn't even mind and say something ridiculous like "Didn't do the required work? Sound as pound, at least you tried! Don't worry and keep on truckin' guys!" Honestly, why even bother sending work if you're not going to require students to do it? Oh, how she wished she could just-</p><p>"You're doing it again" Pauline heard Luana say from her side. Pauline blinked, and realised that she was so lost in her rant she didn't notice them arriving at the Ancient Runes classroom.</p><p>"Sorry." Pauline said, while taking her seat. Luana threw Pauline a confused look.</p><p>"For what?"</p><p>"Spacing out while you were talking." She answered and Luana scoffed as she pulled her books from her bag.</p><p>"Oh please, you and I both know I wasn't saying anything that mattered anyway. Just venting. Which, by the way, is what you should be doing. What's up?"</p><p>"Trust me, nothing important. Just...cursing that imbecilic teacher of ours. Honestly, for all their talk, Hogwarts has the worst professor I have ever met in my life."</p><p>Luana, who was about to answer, was interrupted by the arrival of their professor.</p><p>"Good morning class" Professor Babbling said, pulling some parchments from her briefcase.</p><p>Not wasting any time, the professor started to lecture them on the runes they would be focusing for the month: the number equivalents.</p><p>The lecture itself was very informative and, even if Pauline didn't manage to keep Luana paying attention for long, she at least managed to keep her awake.</p><p>The professor came to the end of her lecture and Pauline frowned. She looked at her watch, a dainty little thing her Grandmother Eva had given her, and noticed that there were still around 20 minutes left before the class ended.</p><p>"Now, I'll be passing around these exercises to make until the end of class-" a collective groan was heard, but Pauline could barely hear anyone else over Luana's massive groan. "-So, if you please can make groups of 3 or higher, only if necessary."</p><p>Pauline's eyes widen and looked at Luana.</p><p>"Don't worry, I got it." She said, already looking around and getting ready to get up.</p><p>But Merlin must have been on their side, since before Luana could get up, a girl showed up. The girl- a Gryffindor- seemed friendly and smiled at both.</p><p>"Hi, I was wondering if I could join you?" She asked, still smiling politely.</p><p>"Uh" Luana said, looking behind the girl. "Something tells me that girl is really trying to get your attention."</p><p>The girl looked behind her and rolled her eyes. Pauline did the same and notice another Gryffindor girl waving excessively in their direction.</p><p>"Never mind her, she only wants to stay with me because she thinks I'll let her be and do all the work myself."</p><p>"Oh, well, I mean I don't plan on exactly doing this either bu-" Luana started, but Pauline gathered her courage and spoke over her.</p><p>"She's joking. Sit down, we'd love for you to join us." She said. Luana quirked an eyebrow but looked proud of Pauline for the interruption.</p><p>The girl smiled once more and pulled an empty chair.</p><p>"I'm Luana Rodrigues, nice to meet you." Luana said, sticking her hand for the pretty Gryffindor girl.</p><p>"I'm Pauline Roux." Pauline quickly said, sticking her hand too. The girl smiled and shook her hand as well.</p><p>"Pleasure in meeting you both, I'm Lily Evans."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>no idea when the next chapter will be, life's wack right now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 6- 𝐻𝑜𝑔𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hmmm...E" Rory said. Charlie grinned and added two 'E's onto the hangman game. As every DADA class, Charlie and Rory were trying to entertain themselves as any way possible. This class, they decided to play hangman, about movies that had come out last year.</p><p>"OooH I'm getting close!" He whispered-yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Charlie laughed at his concentrated expression, as he was basically eating his quill. Rory looked up from the game, and Charlie pointed to his half-eaten quill. Rory quickly spat the quill from his mouth, making a disgust face that made Charlie bite her lip as to not laugh hard enough for the professor to notice them.</p><p>"Is it good?" Charlie asked, pointing to the quill. Rory, who was still pretending to clean his tongue, stopped.</p><p>"You know what? I thought it would taste worse." He said thrusting the quill into Charlie's face. "Want a taste?"</p><p>Charlie snorted as she tried to put as much distance between her and Rory's quill.</p><p>"I'm good, I trust you on the review."</p><p>"Talking about reviews, did it get good ones?" He asked, pointing to the hangman game. Charlie nodded and Rory bit his lip, looking extremely hard to the parchment.</p><p>"Hmm..okay uhh...H" Charlie wrote two 'H' s , making the two words '-he -o----her'. Rory jumped in his seat, happiness taking over his features.</p><p>"The Godfather!" He whispered and Charlie sighed, writing all the remaining words.</p><p>"How are you so good at this?" She asked, passing him the parchment.</p><p>"Well, that was one super easy, plus it was the first movie I saw during last year's Christmas break."</p><p>"Lucky, I only got to see it this summer." She said, as Rory pushed the parchment closer to her. It was 3 words, with only an 'I' in the first.</p><p>"Hmm...F" She said, watching Rory right three 'F's. Charlie narrowed her eyes in concentration, as Rory started to rant about what he loved about The Godfather.</p><p>Fi-- -f F---</p><p>"And the cast! I really liked-"</p><p>"U" Charlie interrupted. Rory filled a 'U' next to the last 'F' as he continued talking.</p><p>"For some reason my dad didn't like it much, but I mean I don't think he was really paying attention-"</p><p>"Is it Fist of Fury?"</p><p>"It is! I saw it this summer too, I didn't have time before." Rory grinned, passing Charlie the parchment.</p><p>"I saw it with my dad, on his day off." She said, as she drew the lines.</p><p>"Did you like it?" Rory asked as he looked at the new word.</p><p>"Yeah it wasn't bad, but I don't think my dad liked it much."</p><p>"A." Rory said, and Charlie wrote all the 'A's. she probably should start to choose harder movies. She looked at the word, -aba--- , and she was sure it wouldn't take long until Rory got it.</p><p>Rory started to bite his lip, to the point it looked painful. From the front of the class, Charlie could hear Professor Wythe say his last remarks and half the class already cleaning their tables.</p><p>"T" He said, and Charlie wrote it.</p><p>"Funny enough I never actually saw this movie, but it's in my-"</p><p>"Cabaret!" Rory said, jumping in his place. Charlie sighed but still smiled as she filled the rest of the letters.</p><p>"How." She simply said, while putting away the paper. Rory grinned as he too started to pack his things.</p><p>"I have no life. That's how." He winked and strapped his bag onto his shoulder.</p><p>"Got anywhere to be? Because I'd love to continue this." He said, as both walked out of the class. </p><p>"Sadly, I do. I'm going with the girls to the library, they've got a friend who needs help with the herbology homework." Charlie said.</p><p>"Oh, to get help for herbology." Rory sighed dramatically and looked into the distance. Charlie laughed and bumped his shoulder.</p><p>"Now, now we've got a deal. I'll help you on Thursday and you'll help me on Friday with astronomy right?"</p><p>"Of course!"</p><p>"Perfect, and you're still showing us around on Saturday, right?"</p><p>"Wouldn't miss it for the world! I'm going to show you guys only the best places in Hogsmeade." Rory grinned and waved goodbye as he turned to the corridor in direction to the Ravenclaw Common room.</p><p>Sadly, Charlie would have to do the rest of the walk herself. Pauline and Luana had already left ahead to get a good table in the library. Turns out, Monday was the perfect day to do all the projects people said they would do on the weekend.</p><p>When Charlie arrived, as she predicted, the library was full. Students, especially older students, were in the tables trying to finish the crazy amounts of homework they got. Seeing this much older students never really reassured Charlie of the years to come, they all look so stressed and dead inside.</p><p>Charlie found the girls table easily, since it was ones of the closest to the door. There, sat Pauline and Luana side by side, and in front of Luana, sat a pretty Gryffindor girl with red hair, a more intense shade than Pauline's.</p><p>"Hey guys." Charlie said, sitting next to the Gryffindor girl. "Hi, I'm Charlie, nice to meet you."</p><p>The girl smiled and shook Charlie's hand. "I'm Lily, pleasure in meeting you too, and thank you so much." She said, sounding very relieved.</p><p>Charlie laughed at Lily's face. "No problem, but I've got to ask, why do you want a better grade? To most people an A in Herbology is more than enough."</p><p>Lily grimaced and Charlie could see her left hand pick on her hangnails.</p><p>"Well, my parents are florists and they always ask about herbology class, I'm pretty sure it's the only one they know by heart. I guess I just don't have the guts to tell them I'm horrid at it."</p><p>Charlie felt a bit awkward. She could relate with dealing with parent's expectations- after all her mother's expectations are half the reason for her to be in Arithmancy- but still had no idea how to answer. Would 'I dig it' be insensitive?</p><p>"Ah, okay then." Charlie replied, ignoring the information all together, "Well, what's-"</p><p>"Finally." Charlie heard Luana say loudly. Glancing over, she could see Luana looking to the front door, and then quickly grabbed her bag. Charlie followed her gaze and found the four Gryffindor boys in her year there.</p><p>"Ugh, not them." She could hear Lily complain.</p><p>"You know them too?" Charlie grumbled. Ever since the quidditch try outs, Charlie tried to avoid the boys at all costs- well, she tried to avoid Sirius, but they were all a package deal. From the horrible moment that Henry said (jokingly, mind you) that Sirius had to look after Charlie he had been unbearable to be around. In History classes, instead of letting Charlie sleep, he'd annoy her with questions about her safety or worse, Henry. And Merlin forbid if he'd happen to see her talk to someone of the opposite gender. She'd never forget the embarrassment that was the interrogation he forced Rory to answer.</p><p>"I wish I didn't. They keep bullying my best friend, Sev, plus Professor McGonagall rearranged the seats so they would stop talking and now I'm stuck with Potter next to me for the rest of the year!" Lily complained while scowling.</p><p>Charlie tried to make herself small in her place, hopping the boys wouldn't notice her. But luck wasn't always on her side, and certainly not now when the boys made a b-line for their table. Charlie locked eyes with them and could feel her stomach drop.</p><p>"Hello girls" Remus greeted politely, nodding at them all. James did the same but threw a cold "Evans" in Lily's direction, who answer the same way. Peter waved, smiling shyly as he carried what Charlie guessed were James' and Sirius' books in his arms. Sirius also nodded but narrowed his eyes in Charlie's direction.</p><p>He opened his mouth, but thankfully Remus interrupted.</p><p>"I'm sorry to interrupt the study date, but we'll be on our way soon." He turned to Luana. "Do you happen to have-" Before Remus even finished, Luana pulled a parchment filled with notes and raised it so high it hit Remus on the nose. Remus, apparently not caring about it, simply smiled and thanked Luana again.</p><p>"That's it? You made us come from the common room for some notes?" James complained. Remus glared at him.</p><p>"Well, maybe if you three had actually taken any real notes during History of Magic I wouldn't have to ask for them, now would I?"</p><p>"Okay but you asked for Rodrigues' notes? She's asleep during the entire class!" James said, quickly adding "No offence."</p><p>"None taken." Luana said, shrugging her shoulders. "You're right after all, but it's not like I'm missing a lot, all he does is read the book. Those notes-" She pointed to the notes in Remus' hand. "-Are what Binns teaches but of easy comprehension."</p><p>James looked like he either lost interest halfway or just didn't listen in general. Still, he nodded and said. "Sure then. I still don't get why we had to go all this way. You could've just asked Evans in the common later today." James said, pointing to Lily.</p><p>Lily scowl deepened and she smack James' hand away.</p><p>"You really think I'd land my notes to any of you? It's already bad enough I have to put up with you during Transfiguration." She said, her green eyes narrowing dangerously.</p><p>"Put up with me? I barely talk to you! Why would I, every time I ask you something you just huff at me." James replied, crossing his eyes, creating a scowl of his own on his face.</p><p>"Like I'd help you, it's about time you use that bighead of yours to do more than attract bludgers."</p><p>James' scowl deepened and he opened his mouth to argue back, but Remus, the buzzkill, decided that this was the perfect moment to leave and grabbed James' shirt collar and started to drag him. Peter immediately followed, and Sirius lingered, looking everywhere as if to find a boy hiding somewhere.</p><p>"Thank you once again! I'll give it back as soon as I can." Remus said, dragging James who was still trying to spit a comeback.</p><p>"Godric, I hate him!" Lily complained, hands in fists. She breathed in and out with her eyes closed for a while.</p><p>"Sorry about that, Potter just has a way to somehow hit every nerve-"</p><p>"Tell me about it, Sirius is on my last one with his stupid shenanigans-"</p><p>"Right? Honestly don't they have a life?"</p><p>"Probably not, I'm guessing they're going to their dorm to brush each other's hairs and talk how great they are." Charlie rolled her eyes and Lily giggled.</p><p>"I'm so glad someone else sees them as they are, only me and Sev seem to really see how horrid they are- Oh! I've got to introduce Sev to you guys!"</p><p>Charlie smiled, and thought back the one of the DADA classes where Rory pointed to her all the Slytherins, including Severus Snape, who looked like he was ready to kill the next person who dared to talk to him. Still, Charlie smiled.</p><p>"Sure! I'm sure he's amazing." She said, hoping she didn't sound passive aggressive. She probably didn't, seeing that Lily smiled in happiness. From the corner of her eye, Charlie could see Luana and Pauline share a look.</p><p>"Anyway," Luana said loudly, "What's buggin' you in History, Line?" Pauline then started to explain to Luana what parts she couldn't understand, which set Charlie and Lily on course with their own little tutoring.</p><p>Truth be told, when the girls told Charlie they made a friend, and that that friend needed tutoring, Charlie expected someone like Luana- easily distracted, prone to conversations on the most random things and with not a big will to understanding details.</p><p>But thankfully Lily was more than happy to learn all the small details in how to easily distinguish the various plants. And to hear Charlie rant nonstop about them. In fact, Charlie was thinking of just continuing talking after finishing talking about the magical properties of puffapods when she noticed the look on Lily's face. She looked like she could barely stiffen a yawn but was trying really hard to pretend she wasn't exhausted.</p><p>Charlie smiled, "Do you mind if we stay here for today? My throat is getting a bit sore." She lied. Lily smiled, a clear relieved expression all over her face.</p><p>"Yes! It's perfect actually, I think that's just about what I can take of Herbology for today." She commented. Charlie looked in front of her, and deduced that any time now Pauline would too be done with History for today. She seemed close to a meltdown.</p><p>"Plus, we even manage to talk about almost everything we learned so far, and it wouldn't be smart to start talking about Valerians as of yet."</p><p>"Oh! But they are used in potions, aren't they?"</p><p>"Yeah, they are." Lily smiled.</p><p>"Potions is my best class." She remarked.</p><p>"How can you learn with Slughorn? There's just something in his voice, that makes me want to immediately sleep." Charlie replied, and Lily groaned, letting her head fall backwards.</p><p>"I know right! I swear if I didn't like that class as much as I do, I would have failed by now." After a moment of thought she quickly added. "Though I hardly believe Sev would just let me fail, especially since he told me he prefers doing potions with me than anyone else since I'm almost as good as he is."</p><p>"Okay! That's enough for now!" Pauline almost yelled, closing her books over her notes with such a force that Ms. Pince came around glaring at them.</p><p>"Sorry" Pauline whispered and both Luana and Charlie tried to hold their laughter's. Lily, bless her, was trying to be nice and send Pauline a sympathetic look, but her smiled told them enough.</p><p>"Don't worry Pauline, Pince is like that to everyone. We're pretty sure she secretly marries the books in the library."</p><p>"Jeez, how stupid would you have to be to marry objects?" Luana asked.</p><p>"There are people for everything." Lily shrugged. She glanced at her watch and her eyes widened. She started to quickly pack her bag, and almost tripped while getting up.</p><p>"Sorry girls, I promised Sev we'd meet up later and I'm already late! See you later!" She whispered and quickly bolted out of the library so fast that Charlie could only really see her red hair.</p><p>"You Brits and your punctuality." Luana muttered. Charlie rolled her eyes and playfully wacked Luana in the head. Luana complained and pouted.</p><p>"You're mean." She said, still pouting. Pauline snorted as she packed her bag and got up.</p><p>"Let's go, I'm starving." She said.</p><p>"No, you're not, you just don't want to have to look to your History book any longer." Luana replied, getting up and swinging her arm around Pauline's shoulders.</p><p>Pauline scowled, and shoved Luana's arm away.</p><p>"Honestly, how can you like that class? Merlin, if I thought in Beauxbâtons we had a boring professor, this one takes the prize."</p><p>"Eh, you're just too judgemental of our professors." Luana said, clearly not helping the matter. Pauline's scowled deepened and crossed her arms.</p><p>"Well, what else am I paying this school for?" Charlie furrowed her brow in confusion.</p><p>"Hogwarts is free, Line."</p><p>"Oh, is that their excuse for the incompetent professors? Since we technically don't pay to come here, they can just find any imbecile that begs for the job? Honestly I cannot even think of another reason for that imbecile Wythe-"</p><p>Luana groaned so loudly that Ms. Pince came after them. Thankfully, they were already at the door.</p><p>"Christ, is this about him again?" She complained.</p><p>"Well, of course it is! It's one of my favourite classes and to have that idiot just massacre it like that-" Pauline stuttered, too angry to even articulate, "It-it- It should be a crime!" She finished, huffing in annoyance.</p><p>Charlie and Luana shared a look. For the last month, all Pauline could ever talk about was how she absolutely hated Professor Wythe. Charlie wasn't really a fan of him, especially when he tried to be 'hip' by using muggle slang in every other phrase, but he didn't take the worst teacher award. That award went to her primary muggle schoolteacher.</p><p>"Okay chill Line, I'm sure he has some qualifications-" Before Luana could finish, Pauline sputtered in outrage.</p><p>"Some? Some qualifications? He's a professor! He should have more than just graduation! Honestly I don't think I've ever seen such an annoying man in my life!"</p><p>"Oh," Luana groaned, looking at the hallway on their left. "You just had  to jinx it, didn't you?" She complained, glaring at Pauline, who was furrowing her brow in confusion.</p><p>Charlie turned to the corridor and saw Henry speed walk in a b-line towards them. He held a nervous look in his face, that definitely didn't match the forced smile and widened eyes. He seemed to be trying to signal Charlie and Charlie was sure that whatever that message was, it had to do with the girl jogging after Henry.</p><p>"Oh boy," Charlie said, turning to the girls, "You guys want free candy at Hogsmeade this weekend?" Both girls nodded.</p><p>"Then just go with whatever lie he blatantly tells, and I'll get you guys all the candy you want." Pauline nodded and Luana grinned.</p><p>"You just buried yourself, Ellis." She whispered as Henry reached them.</p><p>Henry's eyes managed to somehow get wider and crazier. He quickly grabbed Charlie's arm and squeezed it. Charlie threw him a discreet look, and smiled.</p><p>"Hey." She said. Henry didn't even try to answer as the girl jogging after them reached them.</p><p>The girl was a Gryffindor, probably in Henry's year, with a sulky expression and brown hair held back by headband.</p><p>"You're still here? I said no Jorkins, I already told you I'm showing my little cousin here and her friends around." Henry said, shaking Charlie the slightest.</p><p>"That's right" Charlie confirmed. "I asked him to, because I'm new." Charlie wasn't exactly sure what Henry was showing them, but that excuse had work so far.</p><p>The girl, Jorkins, glared at her.</p><p>"You're his cousin are you now?"</p><p>"Yes." Charlie replied in a dry tone. Jorkins stuck her nose up, looking Charlie up and down.</p><p>"And you're new?"</p><p>"Clearly."</p><p>Jorkin pursed her lips.</p><p>"I did hear something about some new students..." She muttered. After a few seconds of looking at the girls, she turned her gaze again to Henry and tried the worst puppy eyes Charlie ever saw.</p><p>"What about in the end of the month? There's another Hogsmeade visit then." She asked, moving a hand to caress Henry's arm.</p><p>Henry tried to causally lean against Charlie as to not be touched, but ended up putting his full weight on her, which almost made Charlie fall. She guessed that, for everyone else other than them, this scene would look funny, seeing a 15-year-old avoid an arm like a cat, while falling on top of a 13 year old girl.</p><p>"Oh, I don't know." Henry tried, but his voice cracked. "I'm sure I'll get detention somehow and won't be able to go."</p><p>Jorkins pouted, dropping her arm.</p><p>"Well, if you don't-"</p><p>"Oh, trust me, I will." He said, partially hiding behind Charlie, which mind you was useless since he was ridiculously taller than her.</p><p>Jorkins huffed, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>"See you at the common room." She said, quickly turning around and leaving. From behind Charlie and sighed in relieved.</p><p>"She seemed nice." Charlie replied, quirking an eyebrow at Henry. Luana laughed and joined in.</p><p>"Yeah c'mon, why did you say no? She seems to have it all together!"</p><p>Henry brushed non existing dust from his robes while glaring at Luana.</p><p>"That was really bad."</p><p>Luana rolled her eyes "Well not all of them need to land."</p><p>"If they were told by someone actually funny they would."</p><p>Luana turned her stare to Charlie.</p><p>"Do you see how he's mean to me? I've been nothing but sunshine to him."</p><p>"Oh! Sunshine, have you?" Henry interrupted, "Why, let me repay!" He quickly wrapped his arms around Luana's shoulders, squeezing her into a hug.</p><p>"Never mind! Go back to being a twat!"</p><p>Henry smirked and let her go.</p><p>"I knew you loved it."</p><p>"Piss off."</p><p>"Henry," Charlie warned. "Stop annoying her."</p><p>"Yeah Henry, stop annoying me."</p><p>"Lu" She warned and Luana stuck her tongue out at Charlie, who rolled her eyes. She quickly turns to Henry.</p><p>"You're not really going with us to Hogsmeade, right?"</p><p>Henry pouted as they all started to walk ahead.</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"We have plans." Charlie replied and Pauline snorted.</p><p>"Barely, it's just Rory showing us around."</p><p>"Still, I don't him to feel awkward just because Henry thinks he can just use us as a ploy to get out of anything."</p><p>"Hey!" Henry complained. "I didn't get out of anything. Jorkins was the one who kept asking me out, and just didn't take a no for an answer." Henry sighed miserably. "I'm just too irresistible."</p><p>Luana turned to Charlie with an incredulous look on her face, which Charlie found weird. It's been over a month of knowing Henry, did she not realise how arrogant he really was?</p><p>Still, Charlie shrugged her shoulder and hit Henry in the arm. Henry yelped and grabbed his arm. </p><p>"What? I am!" He said, still rubbing his arm, "And watch out where you hit, I've got a Quidditch match coming up and I need my arm at his best."</p><p>"I thought the first game was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin?" Pauline asked.</p><p>"It is." Henry replied.</p><p>"Then what game do you have?"</p><p>"The one after that."</p><p>Luana snorted.</p><p>"The one in November? Is that the one you're so worried about?"</p><p>"Why yes, as a matter of fact, it is. Got a problem with that?" He asked.</p><p>"Oh, I've got plenty of problems-" Luana argued, pointing her finger in the air, that Pauline quickly pulled down.</p><p>"Behave." She warned. Henry grinned.</p><p>"Yeah Luana, behave." He said, imitating the tone she had used on him before. Luana narrowed her eyes, and simply huffed in annoyance. Henry grinned and looked at Charlie.</p><p>"So? Hogsmeade?" He enquired. Charlie sighed, really wishing a good excuse would fall from the sky.</p><p>"Well, as long as you don't annoy us too much-" Charlie could see Henry celebrating- "Including Rory, then I'm game. But you cannot just try and boss us around. Rory is showing us the village, you're simply tagging along." Charlie warned, waving her finger close to Henry's face.</p><p>Henry raised his hands in defeat and grinned.</p><p>"Hey, I'm perfectly fine with that, I'll just annoy sunshine over here." He said nodding to Luana, who was still glaring daggers at Henry as he started to walk ahead of them. Eventually Henry turned to a corridor out of sight, and Luana sighed.</p><p>"Still think it's just me letting him mess with me?" She asked Pauline.</p><p>"At this point I just think he finds it funny." Pauline replied in a dry tone. "Still, you've got to be the bigger person Lu and-"</p><p>"Bigger person? With that twat?" Luana huffed, "Please." She remarked, looking outraged.</p><p>"C'mon." Charlie said, walking in direction of the Ravenclaw common room. "I want to put my things in the dorm before dinner and Merlin knows how long we take to get the damn riddle right."</p><p>+++</p><p>There were only two weeks in her life so far, that Charlie felt like stretched longer than they should. The first was when she was 9 and her family was invited by the Armfields to spend a week with them on their 'Summer house'. In November. Not only was Henry at Hogwarts by then, but Amelia, one of the few Armfields Charlie doesn't truly dislike, was sick so she stayed with her maternal grandparents. Even thinking about that week now made Charlie shiver in fear of having to listen to one more tale of 'the good old days'.</p><p>The other week was of course this one. The first Hogsmeade visit seemed to be an enormous deal at Hogwarts, and Charlie spent the entire week hearing how great it is, by all sorts of people.</p><p>Maeve kept squealing about Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, where her date was taking her. Rory didn't know many shops, since it would be his first year there as well, but he seemed to really want to visit Tomes and Scrolls, a bookshop some older kids have told him about. And of course, Henry wouldn't shut up about wanting to go to Zonko's Joke Shop, Spintwitches Sporting Needs and The Three Broomsticks.</p><p>"I don't know if we have time for all this" Luana said, looking at the list of all the shops in Hogsmeade. "I mean, just the amount of time we're going to lose at Honeydukes-"</p><p>"Merlin's beard, how much do you plan on buying for us to take that long?" Pauline asked, as she laced her boots. As usual, Pauline's outfit was jeans with a pastel sweater. Charlie always find a bit weird how Pauline, who had so many dresses that she clearly loved, barely wore them during school.</p><p>"Buy? Me? No, no, if I recall correctly someone promised me all the candy I wanted if I didn't screw up her cousin's lie." Luana replied, looking straight at Charlie. Luana, who wasn't very winter-friendly, had a big navy sweater that looked older than her and some jeans that looked a bit too baggy. What Charlie found even more ridiculous was the coat she was always planning on wearing.</p><p>"And I meant it. You can have as much candy as you want, after all I'm sure you wont mind to share som-"</p><p>"I'd rather die, but thanks for the candy!" Luana replied, as she jumped on her bed.</p><p>Charlie was also just about finished. She wore her favourite dark green shirt and a plaid shirt as a sort of jacket. Unlike both Pauline and Luana Charlie didn't wear boots, but some sneakers Aunt Marie had given her from her birthday.</p><p>"Not even with me?" Pauline asked, pouting as she tried to put an earring. Luana simply flipped her off.</p><p>"And yet I'm the only kid." Pauline muttered. From her bed, Luana snorted in indignation.</p><p>"Oh, trust me, if you had siblings you wouldn't want to share jack shit out of the kindness of your heart."</p><p>"She's right." Charlie said. "I'd rather die than to be forced to let Anne touch my things."</p><p>Pauline grabbed her small purse and the girls (finally) made their way out of the dorm.</p><p>"You two are just ungrateful." Pauline replied. "If I had a sibling-"</p><p>"You would hate most moments." Luana said. "Especially if you had a big difference in age."</p><p>"Well, I'm not you, Lu. I  would treasure every moment I would get with my little sibling." Pauline replied. Luana and Charlie shared a look and Luana rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Well, since you treasure it so much, I'm sure you'd be glad to buy whatever Anne is going to annoy me with, right?" Charlie asked. Pauline looked weirdly happy with that deal and effortlessly agreed.</p><p>As the girls descended the stairs to the common room, they could barely see the door. It seemed that every student over the 3rd year had decided to meet up in the common room.</p><p>Charlie looked around and could see Rory coming towards them. Rory too, was dressed in a shirt and a thin jacket, with jeans and the shoes he wears during classes.</p><p>"Hey! There you guys are, I was afraid you left without me." He said as he reached them. He had a crocked grin on his face, but Charlie could see how he meant what he said.</p><p>"No way, after all we need our guide with us." Charlie said, bumping Rory's arm. Rory relaxed a bit more and grinned an easy grin.</p><p>"Well then! Let's go get your cousin and go!" He said, heading to the door. Luana groaned.</p><p>"Is he really going with us? Doesn't he have friends?"</p><p>"I think he does, but they had dates or something. Plus, he's sure Jorkins will show around and stalk a bit."</p><p>"Now that's just stupid, with all the boys in school, why waste time with your cousin?"</p><p>Rory snorted but quickly changed the subject.</p><p>"Have you guys already finished the essay McGonagall asked?"</p><p>"You mean the one she asked on Thursday?"</p><p>"Yeah"</p><p>"Uhm...Well I haven't finished but I've started it" Charlie lied.</p><p>"Cool! I haven't yet, but I've heard Valentina went around and asked for opinions on something." He said. Pauline frowned.</p><p>"She didn't ask us anything."</p><p>"She probably knows we haven't done it yet." Luana quipped.</p><p>"Well, still." Pauline replied.</p><p>Rory, after sensing this topic was also dangerous, moved on to his favourite: movies. He and Charlie were the ones who talked the most, with dome comments by Luana and with Pauline asking some questions.</p><p>"Oh my, you've got to see it! I mean it wasn't as great as the book, but I think it was alright. My dad said it wasn't as funny as the book." Rory ranted.</p><p>"I thought catch-22 was just something people say when they're in a tight spot." Luana commented, not looking that interested in whatever answer she got.</p><p>"Well, you're not wrong. But it's also-"</p><p>"There you are." They heard. Just a few steps away from them, was Henry and Anne. Anne didn't even wait for Henry and bolted straight to Charlie.</p><p>"I need you to get me some things."</p><p>"Go away Anne." Charlie replied, trying to shove her sister out of the way. Anne, however, didn't seem to like that answer.</p><p>"But mum told us you could go as long as you also got me something!" She whined. "Plus, Henry refuses to even hear-"</p><p>"I don't care. Mum didn't give me extra money to get you anything, so I won't."</p><p>"But that's not fair!"</p><p>"Well maybe next time just be born first." Charlie replied in a dry tone. Anne scrunched her face and Charlie was sure she was about the start a hissy fit, when Pauline stepped in. She started to pet Anne's hair and had a look on her face of pure adoration, that she only used on Anne.</p><p>"Don't worry, tell me what you would like, and I'll get it." Pauline replied, smiling. Anne thinned her lips and Charlie could see she wasn't very happy with the fact that it wasn't Charlie spending money on her, but must have come to the conclusion that money spent on her is good, no matter who it comes from.</p><p>"Okay!" She squealed, giving Pauline a ridiculous large list.</p><p>"Anne, you've got to be kidding me, you're certainly not getting all that!" Charlie reprehended. She was pretty sure that when her mother told her to bring Anne something, she meant one chocolate, not thirty. Anne stuck her nose up and looked at Charlie.</p><p>"You're not the one buying it so you can't tell me what I can get." She replied. Before Charlie could strangle her sister for her attitude, she quickly bolted back to a group of first years and yelled a 'Thank You!' at Pauline.</p><p>Charlie had every intention on telling Pauline to not buy her sister anything when Henry took the paper from Pauline's hands. Pauline simply stared as Henry ripped the list in half and gave her the smaller part.</p><p>"Here" He said. "I hear she didn't do some homework so if she complains after you can always throw that into her face."</p><p>"Why would I want to throw anything into her face? She just wants some candy there's no harm-"</p><p>"There's every harm! You give her all those candies she grows up spoiled Line." Luana quipped.</p><p>"I hate to admit it, but Sunshine over here is right." Henry agreed and Luana rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Whatever, can we just go?" She asked, bumping harshly into Henry's shoulder. Henry simply smirked and went ahead to annoy Luana a bit more. Pauline rolled her eyes and went ahead, probably to make sure they didn't kill each other.</p><p>"Your cousin is...nice" Rory said. Charlie laughed.</p><p>"Yeah I know, just ignore him, I can guarantee he doesn't say much worth listening to anyway."</p><p>The ride to the village had to be one of the most awkward things Charlie ever experienced. That is, until Luana asked what they wanted to see first. Then, Rory and Henry discussed what was closest.</p><p>The very first thing they saw, was Honeydukes. It took them an hour to get everything, especially with the enormous line of costumers. After that, they visited Dogweed and Deathcap, an herbology store that made Charlie's whole trip. After they managed to drag her out of there, they all waited for Henry to go to Spintwitches Sporting Needs and later headed to Tomes and Scrolls.</p><p>Henry insisted on showing The Shrieking Shack, which in the latter years had gain a reputation for being haunted. Finally, they all went to Zonko's Joke shop, where Henry spent all his money getting supplies 'for Robin's upcoming birthday'. Charlie made a hard pass on the dungbombs but did take some nose-biting teacups.</p><p>Right before it got dark, they all decided to go to The Three Broomsticks.</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll spot you." Charlie whispered to Henry. Henry grinned in appreciation.</p><p>"Thanks, I owe you one." He whispered. "Alright gang, I'll go find a table." He said, louder this time.</p><p>Henry disappeared inside. From behind them Pauline stopped to tie her shoelaces and Luana stood by her side, looking around the village.</p><p>"Thanks for letting me tag along." Charlie heard Rory say. She looked at him and could see his sheepish grin, and the way his eyes looked at his shoes. Charlie smiled and intertwined their arms.</p><p>"You didn't tag along Rory, we really wanted you here. I mean you saw us out there. Henry and Luana get at each other's throats and Pauline tries to make them stop and then I end up all alone wondering why I even came. I'm glad you came with us."</p><p>Charlie wasn't sure if what she said had the effect she wanted, but Rory smiled and seemed more confident.</p><p>"You two idiots are done playing love birds? I'm thirsty." Luana replied, passing by them and inside the inn. Pauline followed quickly and Charlie and Rory shared a look and rolled their eyes. </p><p>The inn was filled to the brim with students. They all made their way to the bar, where they got Luana to smooth talk Madame Rosmerta to give them a little discount after they realised, they didn't have enough money for all. Madame Rosmerta must have liked Luana, since she agreed.</p><p>Charlie carried hers and Henry's as she walked around like a chicken trying to find him. From beside her, Pauline yelled in triumph and pointed to where he was, way in the back.</p><p>"There you are!" he said, pushing the chair next to him for Charlie to sit. "Thanks" He said, taking the butterbeer from Charlie. "You guys took forever."</p><p>"Next time you're welcome to go." Luana replied drily.</p><p>"I'd rather have you do all the work, thank you." He said, smirking at Luana.</p><p>Luana feigned a chuckled as her eyes narrowed in an irritated manner.</p><p>"You know what? I-" she started to get up, but Pauline quickly pulled her down.</p><p>"No, he doesn't. And he won't. Be the bigger person" she said. Luana scoffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>"Please, you say that like it's hard, he's tiny."</p><p>"I'll have you know, I'm one of the tallest boys in my class, it's not my fault you're weirdly tall." Henry said. Luana turned to Pauline, with an expression of 'see what I mean?' . Pauline sighed and sent Luana a pleading look. Luana rolled her eyes but didn't answer back.</p><p>"Anyway," Charlie said, trying to change the subject. The problem was, she had no idea what to talk about now.</p><p>"Are the fifth-year classes hard, Henry?" Pauline quipped, and Charlie smiled at her for the save. Pauline simply winked at her.</p><p>"Eh, I guess if you actually pay attention and care, then sure."</p><p>"Are you telling me you're not even trying?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"I'm busy."</p><p>"Didn't know being so arrogant took so much of your time." Luana muttered but Henry ignored her.</p><p>"Quidditch has been taking all my time you see-"</p><p>"But you've only scheduled 2 trainings yet." Rory butted in. Everyone turned to look at him and Rory flushed. "What? I like quidditch." He mumbled.</p><p>"Yes, well I've been busy-"</p><p>"With what? Certainly not schoolwork-"</p><p>"There's more to do in this school than that-"</p><p>"Oh Merlin." Charlie interrupted. "You haven't been snogging girls in the cupboards again, have you? Don't make me write to Aunt Beatrice-"</p><p>"Well it's not my fault!" Henry snapped. "Everyone wants a piece of the captain." He smirked, winking.</p><p>Charlie felt like puking and after looking around, she could tell she wasn't the only one.</p><p>"Can't wait for November," Henry continued, ignoring everyone's disgusted face. "We're going to destroy Hufflepuff.".</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes and decided that it was time to change the subject before Henry got even cockier.</p><p>"So," She said loudly. Everyone stared at her. "Have... you guys done your Transfiguration work, yet?" She tried lamely. Luana dead panned Charlie and Charlie only wished the ground could open and swallow her.</p><p>"Which store did you guys like best? I loved Honeydukes." Luana replied, looking around.</p><p>"OH!" Pauline squealed. "I liked Tomes and Scrolls it's weirdly well organised-"</p><p>"Right?!" Rory asked, jumping in his chair.</p><p>Quickly, there was a discussing of what place was best, and Charlie soon forgot about her disastrous attempt of starting a conversation. She looked around. All her friends were now discussing if the Shrieking Shack was really haunted. Luana was grinning, Pauline had a shine in her eyes, Rory was jumping in his chair and Henry's posture was relaxed.</p><p>Charlie smiled to herself; it was nice seeing all her friends happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next update will be on the 7th of October, unless I get once again busy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 7- 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒 (𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐿𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You've got to be shitting me." Charlie muttered, as she looked at her Astronomy essay. Truly, this was all she needed right now; not only had she been listening to Henry brag about his team nonstop since Ravenclaw beat Slytherin, but Charlie had worked so hard on this essay. She spent two days just getting all the perfect details of the Andromeda constellation, only to get a P. </p><p>Charlie barely even heard the professor dismissing the class and didn't even remember packing all her things; her mind was in a state of confusion, anger and disbelief. Part of her wanting to go back and argue with Professor Sinistra over her grade.</p><p>Looking ahead and seeing Pauline and Luana discuss their own grades, Charlie decided to do just that. She turned around, and immediately collided with Rory.</p><p>Thankfully, since Rory wasn't some huge bloke, all that collision did was make Rory drop his books and Charlie her sickening essay.</p><p>"Sorry!" Rory squeaked. Charlie looked down as to pick up her essay and noticed her foot was over Rory's. Gasping, she quickly took it off.</p><p>"No, I'm sorry, it's my fault and I'm so sorry I stepped on you." She grimaced as she leaned down. She decided that helping Rory was first priority, since she did cause him to drop his books.</p><p>"No, really, it's my fault." Rory replied. Charlie sighed, she wished he wasn't so nice all the time. "I was running to you to see what you guys got. I shouldn't have pulled up so close." Rory smiled awkwardly, looking at Charlie with puppy eyes.</p><p>"Rory don't even, it was my fault so don't make that face." Charlie replied, squishing Rory's cheeks at the last word. Rory grinned and grabbed Charlie essay.</p><p>"So," He said, already opening the essay. Charlie tried to stop him, but it was too late. "What did you get?" He said, as he examined her essay.</p><p>"Yikes." Was all he said, grimacing. Charlie huffed and rolled her eyes, snatching her essay back.</p><p>"I know, I was actually on my way to discuss it with Sinistra. Honestly I worked super hard and I think the grade isn't fair." She replied, getting ready to turn back. Rory however, simply snatched her essay back and opened it.</p><p>"I don't know." He muttered, ad his eyes scanned the parchment. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're very good with words and all, but you confused Mirach's position with Almach's-"</p><p>"-a normal mistake, the names are alike-"</p><p>"-And you forgot to mention the second name of Alpheratz. And that it's the brightest star of the constellation. And that's the alpha. And the fact that it's binary. And the dual cultural significance in both Greek and Arabic-"</p><p>"Okay!" Charlie interrupted. "I get it, it's more flawed than I realised. Still, doesn't it deserve at least a bit more? I'm not asking for an O, but maybe a very low A?" Charlie tried.</p><p>Rory pursed his lips as he scanned the rest of the essay.</p><p>"I mean," He started, tilting his head. "If you beg, I'm sure she'll feel sorry enough to maybe change it."</p><p>Charlie groaned, snatching the essay and hiding it as far in her bag as she could. Behind her, she heard giggling, and she saw Valentina and Cecilia, two girls of her year, giggling as they passed them, very clearly looking at them. Obviously, they heard a fair bit of the conversation.</p><p>"What is her problem?" Charlie muttered.</p><p>"Don't mind her, she just likes getting her ego stroked by seeing other's fail. But don't you worry, I'm sure she'll come down once she gets a hold of Evans' grades." Rory replied, grinning. He picked up his books that were neatly stacked on the floor and started to walk with Charlie.</p><p>"It's not that bad, If I can get a EE on my next one and at least a A in the exam then I'll pass." Charlie replied.</p><p>"Very Ravenclaw of you, striking for the very least."</p><p>"Shut up. For your information, I actually somewhat try in other classes, but astronomy is just so..." Charlie trailed and groaned frustrated. "Honestly, they're all stars, they all look the same, how am I supposed to know which one is which?"</p><p>"Well, actually I've got a pretty sweet technique, if you I can teach it to you."</p><p>"Yes, please! I'll need a miracle if I want to actually pass this class."</p><p>"Oh!" Rory said suddenly, a newfound energy in him. His eyes lit up with excitement and he was grinning. "What if I tutor you a bit? We never did get to do the tutoring last month and you clearly need it!"</p><p>"Okay first, thank you for that." Charlie replied dryly. "And second, thank you! Are you sure?" She continued, in a chipper tone this time. Rory grinned and nodded his head.</p><p>"Of course! How about Saturday?"</p><p>"I can't Saturday, it's the bloody quidditch game, Henry might actually murder me." Charlie replied, frowning, "But how about Friday afternoon?" She added.</p><p>"Perfect! Bring all your essays so I can read them. And uhh-" Rory added, smiling impishly while rubbing his neck, "Before the exam, you can also give me some more tutoring in Herbology?"</p><p>Charlie smiled at Rory's awkwardness, and wholeheartedly agreed.</p><p>                                                                             +++ </p><p>Normally, Charlie loved Fridays. Fridays meant weekends and weekends meant sleeping in, which felt extra great with the cold air November brought. However, since the beginning of the week, Charlie was fearing this weekend.</p><p>Henry had been bothering them nonstop about the quidditch game on Saturday. Every morning he'd brag in the Gryffindor table . And when the students got bored hearing him, they kindly suggested for him to go bother Charlie at the Ravenclaw table.</p><p>Charlie had no idea how many more times she could restrain Luana from kicking Henry out.</p><p>Today was no exception. A little before they normally got up to leave, Henry strolled in and sprawled himself on the seat between Pauline and Luana, in front of Charlie.</p><p>" 'Mornin' ladies." Henry grinned while looking around.</p><p>"Good morning Henry." Charlie sighed, exasperated. "Did they kick you out already?"</p><p>"No, and you know that. Brigman just thought I should come remind you again-"</p><p>"-of course he did-" Charlie muttered.</p><p>"-Of the game on Saturday. Especially since I know you didn't go to the last match." Henry reprehended, looking very much like a father after his kid did something stupid.</p><p>"I was busy! Flitwick gave me a ton of homework that I forgot to do."</p><p>"So? It was your own house playing! Godric knows you'd probably try to miss my game too."</p><p>"Oh, if only we could." Luana quipped while lifting her cup to her mouth. Henry turned to her and mockingly pouted.</p><p>"C'mon now Lulu, don't be like that" Luana stared at him with a glare.</p><p>"Called me that again and I'll punch you"</p><p>"...Understandable." Henry replied, slowly inching away from Luana.</p><p>"Don't worry Henry, just like I told you yesterday, and the day before that, we'll be there." Charlie replied, in hopes of stopping the two idiots from arguing. It worked, as Henry quickly turned to Charlie and his eyes lit up.</p><p>"Perfect! It is after all my first game as captain. Since it's against Hufflepuff I don't plan on going too hard, especially so the next one, against Slytherin, they'll underestimate us, and we can go hardcore on them." Henry whispered but could barely contain himself.</p><p>Luana rolled her eyes and Pauline tried to secretly yawned, the usual reaction whenever Henry started to talk about quidditch tactics.</p><p>"Well," Charlie replied, quickly getting up. Realising where she was going with this, Luana and Pauline jumped out of their seats, quickly clutching their bags. " This was fun, but we've got to go to History of Magic."</p><p>Henry frowned and looked at his old watch. Charlie made a mental note to maybe get him a new one. "There's still time before class."</p><p>"Yes, well...We want to go there early so we can...catch the best seats." Charlie replied. In front of her, Luana sent her a dead pan look, as she knew that Henry would not believe her.</p><p>" Catch the best seats? You sit on the back!" Henry replied, still frowning.</p><p>"How do you know?"</p><p>"Potter told me; he was complaining about how annoying it was for him to have Black berate you with questions while he wants to talk about something."</p><p>"OH?" Charlie squeaked in outraged. "Is it inconvenient for him? Can't even imagine his suffering." She huffed.</p><p>"What does Black even talk to you about?" Henry asked, and Charlie tried to come up with an answer fast. She could tell the truth and say Sirius mostly just annoys her about Henry, but she also promised Sirius she wouldn't tell anyone and after these months she kind off considered Sirius her friend. An annoying one too.</p><p>"Oh, just...French related stuff. He seems very interested in Beaxbâtons." Charlie replied, thankful that for once she didn't said something that stupid to get her caught.</p><p>Henry narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but Luana interrupted him (Thank Merlin!).</p><p>"Anyway," She replied loudly, pushing Pauline to move, "This was fun but we've got to go to class." She finished quickly, eyes signalling Charlie to just shut up and follow.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, bye!" She added, jogging out of the Great Hall before Henry could even stop looking confuse.</p><p>"Finally." Pauline breathed out as they exited the Great Hall.</p><p>"Tell me about it." Luana grumbled, "You know I have cousins I don't see for years. Why can't you just do that and ignore Henry until we graduate?" Luana asked Charlie, but before Charlie could answer, Pauline quipped.</p><p>"Until he graduates, you mean."</p><p>Luana scoffed. "I know what I said."</p><p>"Don't be like that Lu." Charlie said, "He still has Anne to annoy."</p><p>"Then why doesn't he? No offense but your cousin even gets on my nerves on normal situations, but I don't know if I'll manage not to hit him if he keeps this up." Luana whined as the girls took a turn to classroom 72.</p><p>"You won't have to listen for long." Pauline replied, while untangling her hair with her fingers. "Tomorrow is the game so hopefully we won't hear any more until then."</p><p>"Yeah, after thar it's just hearing him brag for a week or so."</p><p>"You're being modest Lu, he'll brag for a month easily."</p><p>Luana sighed.</p><p>"Thanks Charlie."</p><p>"You're welcome." Charlie grinned as she pushed the door open. Thankfully, class hadn't started yet, everyone was just preparing themselves for the boring class they'd be having.</p><p>"Only Binns to make witch hunts boring." Luana whispered, quickly moving to her spot, followed by Pauline.</p><p>Charlie took her place and smiled at Remus, who looked horrible. He smiled back, but Charlie could see the exhaustion on his face.</p><p>"Hey, you're okay Remus? Because, no offense, you look terrible." She asked. Remus chuckled.</p><p>"Yeah don't worry, just coming down with something. I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the game tomorrow though. Please let your cousin know why, I'm sure he'd crucify any Gryffindor who missed it for no reason."</p><p>Charlie groaned, rolling her eyes.</p><p>"Merlin, don't even. I don't think I can hear him talk anymore. I can only imagine what you poor Gryffindors are going through."</p><p>"Don't worry, it's bearable. After all, whenever Ellis starts, we just send Sirius in to just stare at him in awe."</p><p>Charlie laughed and glance to the table behind her. Sirius and James were whispering to each other. Charlie guessed it might have been about quidditch until she noticed how often they looked at Remus. She guessed they were keeping an eye on him, especially since Remus looked like he'd pass out at any moment.</p><p>"Merlin, I'd say even him would have to be done by now but- well, that would be lying."</p><p>"When we think he's getting tired we send in James."</p><p>"Smart." Charlie replied as she took her parchment out. During the last month, she and Remus started to play some games to pass the time. Remus favourite was counting how many times Professor Binns mentioned the Goblin wars. Charlie's favourite was betting on how many students would fall asleep and when. Somehow, Peter was always the first.</p><p>Today, they decided to compromise and play hangman. Granted, it wasn't as fun as when she played with Rory, but Charlie blamed that on not being movie related. Instead, they used everyday objects, spell names and weird and unusual words they knew.</p><p>"You've got to be joking" Charlie said. Remus shook his head.</p><p>"Nope, I'm serious. It's a real word."</p><p>"No its not, it's gibberish."</p><p>"It's not! I'm telling you."</p><p>"Then what does it mean?"</p><p>Remus cleared his throat and straightened his back, as if to say something truly important.</p><p>"Gobbledygook is when you use language that is unintelligible thanks to the use of too many technical terms. My mum uses it all the time when my dad rants about work." Remus replied, in a fake posh tone.</p><p>Charlie laughed but soon stopped after she felt something hit her cheek. She turned around and glared at the two idiots behind her. Sirius simply nodded in her way and James grinned.</p><p>"What?" She asked.</p><p>"Have you talked to your cousin yet?" Sirius asked.</p><p>"Sadly."</p><p>"Well... Did you talk to him about what I asked you?" Sirius said, widening his eyes in warning for Charlie to not spill the beans. Charlie rolled her eyes, did Sirius actually expect her to just start talking to Henry about how the two would be great friends?</p><p>"No, not yet. And until the game tomorrow I hardly doubt I'll be able to talk about something else with him."</p><p>As soon as she said it, Charlie knew she said something wrong. Sirius eyes widened in alarm, but it wasn't his reaction that was the worse. James had gone pale, quickly changing to green in just a matter of seconds. His hands curled into fists and he took a deep breath.</p><p>"What's wrong?" She asked James. James smiled but it looked rather pathetic compared to his normal smiles.</p><p>"Nothing." He replied. "Just first day nerves." He took another deep breath and loosened his fists.</p><p>" Don't be James. I saw you on the try-outs, you were great! I'm sure you'll do perfectly fine." Charlie lied. Truth be told she did think James had to be good, or else Henry would have never chosen him, but she didn't exactly saw him play. Not yet anyway.</p><p>"Let's hope so." He said. "Gryffindor hasn't won in 4 years. Ellis has his mind set on bringing the title back to Gryffindor this year. I mean, what if I shoot and fail? What if I accidentally fly into another player? Good Godric! What if I accidentally drop it?!" James whispered, sounding more frantic with each possibility.</p><p>"Mate, don't worry, we all believe in you. And it's just your first game, it's normal to be nervous or to make one or two errors. But when you get out there, I'm sure you won't even think about it." Sirius reassured.</p><p>"Exactly," Remus supplied, " Plus everyone in Gryffindor is happy you're on the team. They know how you take it seriously, and they won't care if you make one or two mistakes along the way."</p><p>"They'll support you no matter what," Charlie continued. "And if something does go wrong, I'm sure they're all be there giving you support and encouragement."</p><p>James scoffed and Charlie could feel her stomach dropped. Has she said something wrong?</p><p>"Not the whole Gryffindor house." James commented. "Evans isn't going to the game, she'd rather spent time with that slimy git she calls a friend." James scoffed once more, looking disgusted.</p><p>"Who?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Evans. She's-"</p><p>"No, not Lily, who's the so called slimy-"</p><p>"-Git? Oh, it's Snape. Don't know if you met him yet." James said, not looking that interested in the conversation now.</p><p>Charlie cringed as she remembered when she met Snape. Lily in fact did introduce the girls to her friends. Charlie got along greatly with Dorcas Meadows and Mary Mcdonald but something about Severus Snape didn't feel right for Charlie. When they met, he was cordial and truly only seemed interested in hearing what Lily had to say. The only time Snape actually turned to her to talk was when she complained on how annoying Sirius was getting.</p><p>"Yeah." She said. "I did."</p><p>"Right." James replied, clearly distracted. "So please explain to me why Snivellus is more important than your own house? More important than showing your house pride? I mean can you imagine how selfish you've got to be to miss a game of your own house?!" James complained, and Charlie tried to keep a straight face.</p><p>"No idea, sounds horrible."</p><p>"Exactly!"</p><p>The bell rang, and Charlie stashed her things in record time. After throwing a "See you at the game!" over her shoulder to the boys, Charlie sprinted out.</p><p>"Charlie!" She heard Pauline yell. Charlie stopped, but mostly out of surprise, since Pauline would normally never actually do something to draw attention to her.</p><p>Looking back, she understood why. While Pauline was jogging to catch up to Charlie, Luana was slowly walking their way, her eyes fixed on her History of Magic book. At some point, she stumbled into someone and yet still found the moral ground to glare at them as if they were the ones distracted.</p><p>"Why were you running like that? Are you that hungry?" Pauline asked, still catching her breath.</p><p>"Sure." Charlie replied and grinned when Pauline glared at her.</p><p>"What's up with her?" Charlie asked, hoping the change of topics would distract Pauline. It worked, since Pauline turned to look at Luana who now looked like she was glaring at the textbook.</p><p>"Oh, she thought Professor Binns said something wrong and now is determined to find is she's right or wrong."</p><p>The two waited for Luana to finally arrived, and when she did, her lips thinned, and she snapped the book shut.</p><p>"Let's go." She said coldly, eyes narrowed.</p><p>"So," Pauline said. "I'm guessing you were wrong?"</p><p>"I don't want to talk about it." Luana snapped.</p><p>Charlie snickered but soon stopped when Luana glared at her. There was always something frightening in Luana's glare, and yet Charlie couldn't pin point it.</p><p>"It's perfectly fine to be wrong you know." Charlie tried, smiling sheepishly afterwards.</p><p>Luana scoffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>"I wasn't wrong, I just misunderstood Binns. Turns out he did say 47 times, when I thought he said 46."</p><p>"What?" Charlie asked at the same time Pauline replied,</p><p>"I'm pretty sure he said 47."</p><p>Luana however, ignored Pauline.</p><p>"On the case of Wendelin the Weird. Whatever, I mean he should be right, after all he is the teacher, he shouldn't get such an important piece of information wrong."</p><p>"I hardly call it important." Pauline muttered as the girls made it to the Great Hall.</p><p>"That's because you don't like History, which made I add, is ludacris since knowing History is important-"</p><p>"To predict the future, yeah you've told us before." Charlie interrupted, already grabbing some potatoes.</p><p>"And yet you ignore me." Luana commented and Pauline rolled her eyes.</p><p>"You're one to talk, you don't even try at DADA."</p><p>"Well that's because the professor is a joke." Luana grinned and now it was Charlie's turn to roll her eyes. Luana couldn't care less how professor Wythe was, but she knew perfectly well how annoyed Pauline would soon get.</p><p>Pauline groaned and started to massage her temple.</p><p>"Don't even get me started on this week's assignment. I mean, is this man really this stupid? Does he actually think any student will honestly even try to 'figure out the aura' of Grindylows? What does that even mean?!" Pauline ranted, looking exhausted.</p><p>"How am I supposed to know? I tune him out the second I walk in that classroom." Luana replied, grabbing a pudding.</p><p>Pauline quirked an eyebrow at Luana's choice of lunch but didn't comment any further.</p><p>"I miss having competent teachers." Pauline whined.</p><p>"Don't worry." Charlie replied, "If what Henry says it's true then Wythe will probably leave by the end of the year."</p><p>"I can only dream." Pauline said, playing with her food.</p><p>The rest of lunch was mostly done in silence. Especially since everyone seemed too hungry to talk any further but the factor of tiredness was also a big influence. After all that what Charlie wanted to do was go nap, so waking up early tomorrow wouldn't hurt as much. But she knew she couldn't. Rory was nice enough to tutor her and she had to at least pay attention to it.</p><p>As she was finishing dessert, Rory plops next to her, grinning.</p><p>"Are you ready to re-discover the amazing world of Astronomy?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Charlie laughed but noticed from the corner of her eye Luana and Pauline sharing a look. She decided to ignore it.</p><p>" Not really, but I'm sure you'll try your best."</p><p>"You're damn right I will., Now c'mon! We've got loads to cover!" He said, grabbing Charlie's arm, dragging her up and out of the Great Hall.</p><p>"Since you flop that essay, I thought it'd be best if we started with the Andromeda Constellation." Rory said, as he speed walked them to the Library. " I hope you have your other essays with you since I might take them with me and see where you mostly error. Also, I was thinking of doing you a mock essay, just so you can keep and know what points to normally hit in the real deal. Oh! And-" Rory kept ranting, but Charlie zoned out.</p><p>She was mostly just trying to wake herself up. She'd had to remind herself not to do this tutoring sessions after History of Magic. Or after lunch since she sometimes also got sleepy. But then, when to make them? She'd hate to waste her weekends thinking of this horrid class, even if it was Rory teaching, and she'd didn't want to-</p><p>"So, what do you think?" Rory asked, snapping Charlie out of her daze.</p><p>"Sounds great," She said, as she took her surroundings. Somehow, they were already at the library, but she figured the slight weight she felt in her legs had something to do with it.</p><p>"Perfect!" Rory replied, as he let go of Charlie's arm and sat in the closest table. Charlie did the same, standing in front of Rory, who looked as red as a tomato. Though Charlie figured she didn't look better after all that powerwalking.</p><p>"So," He said, grinning once again, "Ready to really start?"</p><p>Charlie smiled, even if inside all she wanted was the sleep.</p><p>"Let's do this."</p><p>+++</p><p>If there was something Charlie absolutely hated, was waking up early on a weekend.</p><p>Weekends, to Charlie, were a break from the usual school routine, meaning that not even Pauline, who was naturally a morning person, would try to wake Charlie up.</p><p>However, sacrifices were to be made every so often, and if Charlie didn't want to have to endure Henry being a twat for the rest of the month, she'd had to make the ultimate sacrifice of waking up at 8 to go watch Henry's quidditch game.</p><p>The worst part wasn't even waking up, Charlie noticed, it was trying to wake up Luana.</p><p>Luana always seemed to have a beyond natural ability to sleep through anything (Luana had once said it was due to her father and brother snoring like lumberjacks) and so waking her up was always a hard task.</p><p>Normally, Pauline (the most patient one) would settle with shaking Luana violently until she woke up. Today, the pressure of time must have been too big, since Pauline allowed Charlie to wake Luana up in the most noble way: by dumping a bucket of freezing water at her.</p><p>Luana shrieked and jump out of the bed so suddenly she ended up falling to the floor.</p><p>"WHAT THE HELL?" she bellowed.</p><p>Charlie had to stifle her laugh, but Pauline simply sighed in annoyance.</p><p>"I told you to put an alarm, didn't I? Now c'mon we're already late."</p><p>"Late? It's a Saturday! And I really rather sleep than have breakfast."</p><p>Pauline sighed once more, massaging her temple.</p><p>"The game Lu. We promised we'd go." Pauline replied as Charlie lowered her hand out for Luana to take. Luana did and Charlie pretended that the wetness of it didn't bother her.</p><p>Luana got up and dusted herself with a scowl on her face.</p><p>"I didn't promise shit, you guys go."</p><p>"Lu..." Pauline said in a warning tone.</p><p>"Don't you Lu me. I don't need to see that twat's ego getting even bigger. I can guarantee he won't stop annoying me all day. Christ, how can someone be so arrogant?"</p><p>" 'Been asking that myself for the last years actually" Charlie mumbled.</p><p>"I don't care, Luana. We all promised and I'm certainly not letting you here alone to stuff yourself with candy. If one of us suffers, we all do. Now get up and get dressed." Pauline ordered. Luana huffed, mumbling complaints but did what she was told.</p><p>"You've got to teach me how you do that." Charlie mumbled as she watched Luana lock herself in the bathroom.</p><p>"I have no idea, I'm just glad it keeps working."</p><p>Charlie snorted and finished getting ready. Today seemed colder than usual, so Charlie dressed accordingly. She decided to wear as much red as she could, just like Pauline had, as a way to support the team. She figured that, if the red jeans, socks, shirt and scarf didn't make the trick, nothing would.</p><p>After a few minutes (and when Charlie was lacing her boots) Luana finally came out of the bathroom, looking more awake and her hair wilder than usual.</p><p>"Lu," Pauline said, "Here." she threw at Launa a red jumper, and Luana looked at her in confusion.</p><p>"I have clothes." she said simply.</p><p>"Yes, but not red. Put that on."</p><p>"My mum says it isn't my colour." Luana mumbled and quickly added "Why am I wearing this?"</p><p>"Because," Charlie quipped. "We're supporting Gryffindor."</p><p>Luana groaned.</p><p>"The things I do for you guys. Yellow looks way better on me. And yet here I am, wearing red."</p><p>"Just get dressed Lu."</p><p>+++</p><p>"I fucking hate your cousin."</p><p>"I've got to agree with Luana."</p><p>"I'm on your side this time." Charlie muttered, as she tried to warm her hands. For all of this week, Henry had been nothing but a bother, always reminding her of the time of the game and especially, not to be late. And yet, when Charlie arrived just after breakfast, the pitch was empty. There were only 3 other kids all around that Charlie could see.</p><p>Turns out, Henry must have given her the wrong time to be there, since they arrived an hour or so earlier. Only now were the diehard fans appearing.</p><p>"Well, if you guys are up to killing him..." Luana trailed, nodding in the direction of a red mass of people casually walking to the pitch.</p><p>"Let's go." Charlie said, getting up and jogging down the stairs. As they arrived at the ground, the wind picked up and Charlie cursed her cousin for making her get up so early.</p><p>From the team, they could hear some laughter and Charlie scowled. How can anyone be so happy with this cold? She considered asking Luana for one of her jackets, but she was sure she'd hear a big no.</p><p>"Henry!" She yelled and saw one of the heads turn to her. Looking around the team, everyone seemed either relaxed or a bit nervous, including James who looked like he'd puke at any second.</p><p>"Charlie!" Henry replied, a big goofy grin in his face. He let the team jog by and stayed around the girls.</p><p>"You guys came!" He said and Charlie could feel her eyebrow twitch in anger.</p><p>"Yeah, one hour earlier! What the hell!" She replied, pushing Henry which just ended up annoying her since he barely moved.</p><p>"Well, I wanted to make sure you didn't miss it! I figured Sunshine over there would take forever to get dressed." He said, nodding at Luana who simply rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Do I look like I'm an arrogant twat like you?" She asked and Henry narrowed his eyes. He then closed then and took a deep breath.</p><p>"I'm not letting you get to me today." He breathed out, and soon opened her eyes.</p><p>"What was I saying?" He asked Charlie.</p><p>"You were trying to explain why you did this to me."</p><p>"Oh yeah!" He said, his arm going around Charlie's shoulder, bringing her close. "Look I'm sorry, I just...wanted to make sure you came, yeah?"</p><p>Charlie scowled. "You don't need someone to feed your ego more."</p><p>"No, it's just..." Henry trailed. "You and Annie are the only ones that get to come and see it and... I don't know, I guess I missed having family in the stands. The last time I had someone who actually knew me supporting me was before Hogwarts during my football matches."</p><p>Charlie furrowed her brow. She figured Henry was right, after all, no matter how much he told Aunt Beatrice, it wasn't the same. Before she'd go to every football game and talk tactics with him and Charlie figured that's harder to do with quidditch.</p><p>"Fine." She whined as Henry grinned and let her go. "But don't you dare to ever wake me up at this time ever again."</p><p>"Deal." He replied, but Charlie could tell he most likely didn't mean it. Still she smiled at him and bumped him. Henry laughed and bumped her back.</p><p>They picked up their pace and separated right before they reached the pitch. Henry went on to the locker rooms and Charlie went up the stairs to the stands. Before she went further, she called Henry who looked back at her.</p><p>"Good luck"</p><p>Henry smiled and winked at her playfully.</p><p>+++</p><p>Thankfully the stands quickly filled up with fans, and quickly Charlie felt like an intruder in the Gryffindor stands. Luckily, Remus had arrived and came over to their side. Charlie was also glad to see Peter, who even if she didn't talk much with seemed nice, but was not happy to see Sirius.</p><p>Charlie was hoping Sirius would ignore her and yet there was something that always made Charlie's life miserable.</p><p>"Ellis!" He called. Charlie tried her best to hide behind Luana, but Sirius managed to get to her before she managed.</p><p>"There you are!" He said looking to the pitch. "Have you seen your cousin today? And the team?"</p><p>"Yes." Charlie replied, hoping the conversation wouldn't go to Henry (or worse, boys) and thankfully this one prayer was answered. Sirius looked around, his features more strict and severe.</p><p>"Did you see James?" He asked lowly. Charlie nodded.</p><p>"He looked a bit nervous, but I'm sure Henry will give the pep talk of the year." Charlie reassured, happy that the topic wasn't something that made Charlie roll her eyes until she died.</p><p>"I hope so. He was so nervous this morning. His mum wrote me this morning to ask me to make sure he ate breakfast."</p><p>Charlie quirked her eyebrow.</p><p>"You talk to his mum?" She asked, holding her laughter. Sirius seemed offended,</p><p>"Yes" He said, "I love Mrs. Potter, she always sends me butter cookies on the weekends."</p><p>Charlie smiled, she couldn't imagine having a buddy relationship with Pauline or Luana's mum but she found it weirdly cute that Sirius was good friends with Mrs. Potter.</p><p>"That sound's nice, are the cookies good?"</p><p>Sirius groaned.</p><p>"So good, Merlin's Beard I get so happy when I see her packages."</p><p>Charlie laughed and opened her mouth, but was interrupted with the voice of the commentor. Sirius and Charlie looked around and noticed how quickly the stadium filled up and how the game was about to start.</p><p>Sirius said a quick goodbye and went to join the new location of Remus and Peter, closer to the pitch. Charlie turned her attention to the pitch as the teams went out.</p><p>Charlie felt a huge roar behind her as the Gryffindor team came out. Even from where she stood, Charlie could see Henry waving, clearly on his element.</p><p>The teams took to the skies, the captains shook hands and the whistle blew.</p><p>Truth be told, Charlie didn't understand well quidditch. She guessed that the fact that her dad was a muggle and her mum was always too busy had something to do with it. Even in Beauxbâtons Charlie didn't attend regularly the games, only when Pauline dragged her.</p><p>Out of the three Pauline had easily the most knowledge and love for the game. Of course she preferred watching the French leagues, and especially Quiberon Quafflepunchers, her absolute favourite team. Luana, who was a huge football fanatic, seemed to understand the rules of quidditch and normally went with Pauline to watch the games.</p><p>Still, with her very little knowledge of Quidditch, Charlie could see how much of a disaster this game was. Turns out, Gryffindor's casual approach to Hufflepuff was a big mistake since the entire Hufflepuff seemed to run on adrenaline and cocaine with our fast and merciless they were being.</p><p>It took less than 10 minutes for the Gryffindor team to realise that Hufflepuff wasn't having a lucky start, and tried their best to pick up their pace. And yet, no matter how good Gryffindor was, Hufflepuff clearly still was better. Charlie figured there were a lot of early dawn training involved.</p><p>Charlie considered closing her eyes until the massacre was over, but she figured if Henry would happen to glance her way it would look bad his own family not seemed to care.</p><p>The game dragged on until 3pm. By then, most people had left already, knowing that no matter how much Gryffidnor tried, they would loose badly. By the time the Hufflepuff seeker catch the snitch, only people from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were around.</p><p>The Hufflepuff stand roared and even after they left the pitch Charlie could hear the celebration. Charlie could see the teams leave and enter the shower rooms.</p><p>Charlie, Pauline and Luana decided to head down and wait for Henry in the pitch. All around them, the Gryffindors seemed to be handle rather well with their lost. Charlie assumed that the fact that Gryffindor played hard until the very end had something to do with it. Still, there was no erasing the 320 points advance Hufflepuff had gotten.</p><p>The Gryffindor team all left at their own accords. Some left with the crowds, some left a few minutes before, and James, left almost 20 minutes after. Not seeing anyone around, Charlie called him.</p><p>James turned to her and nodded.</p><p>"Hey Charlie." He simply said.</p><p>"Hey James, how are you?"</p><p>James shrugged his shoulders, while looking around.</p><p>"Not that bad, I still managed to score more than half of our goals. And I even managed to steal the ball a few times!" He replied, smiling a bit.</p><p>"That's great!" Charlie said in a hurry, "Is Henry still in?" She asked, glancing to the door.</p><p>James frowned and shook his head.</p><p>"He was the first one out, right after giving a pretty nice speech. Made me feel a bit better for the result." James shrugged. "He's probably already on the common room, or his dorm."</p><p>Charlie could feel her heart pick up but nodded nevertheless.</p><p>"You're going there?"</p><p>"Well. Yeah-"</p><p>"Great!" Charlie interrupted, grabbing an arm each of her friends. "We'll go with you."</p><p>Charlie didn't wait much and started to walk, dragging both Pauline and Luana.</p><p>"Don't worry about him." Charlie heard Luana say. " I'm sure he's just sulking in his room."</p><p>"I hope you're right."</p><p>The trip to the Gryffindor Common room seemed to take forever. Every student around them seemed to sulk their way to the common room, clearly in no rush to arrive. James too, didn't seem to be in a rush, but Charlie knew how her cousin was when he got into his own head, so she'd rather not leave him alone for a long time.</p><p>Along the way, the four found the three boys Charlie was sure would appear eventually. Remus, Sirius and Peter immediately went to James and asked him how he was doing.</p><p>James, who even if he wasn't that sad was still pretty bummed out, seem to cheer quickly when in the company of his best friends and the seven of them walked to the Common room.</p><p>In fact, by the time they arrived at the common room, Charlie was forcing herself not to look too happy, since Sirius, Remus and Luana spent the entire way goofing about.</p><p>Still, no matter how buddy buddies they were before, the boys ( more James and Sirius) forced the girls to remain at the bottom of the stairs as the boys whispered the password to the Fat Lady. Thankfully, Peter stayed behind to keep the door open.</p><p>The Gryffindor Common room was so different from the Ravenclaw one, and in other circumstances Charlie would love to look it over. There was a lot of red, including couches. A few tables here and there and a great view from the windows. The common room gave a homey feeling, which Charlie credited to the warm colours and the fireplace. Still, she found it odd the absence of a statue of Godric Gryffindor.</p><p>Charlie turned to Pauline and Luana. "You guys stay here and see if he's around or if he shows up."</p><p>The girls nodded and separated to look around.</p><p>Charlie, after some guidance by Peter, found the boys staircases and went up.</p><p>She assumed the system was the same was hers and so she climbed to the 5th floor. Before barging in, Charlie thankfully remembered to knock.</p><p>And thank Merlin she did, since a boy, shirtless no less, answered and Charlie turned her eyes up, her face burning.</p><p>"Uhh, is Henry around?" She asked.</p><p>The boy looked behind him, still apparently okay with being shirtless, and turned to Charlie.</p><p>"No, I think he's with his cousin."</p><p>"I'm his cousin."</p><p>"Oh." The boy said. "Then he might be with the rest of the team." The boy finished, closing the door.</p><p>Charlie walked down the stairs, hoping someone in the common room had more luck.</p><p>Finally arriving to the end of the stairs, Charlie noticed how full the common room had gotten. Looking around, she noticed both Pauline and Luana walking towards her. None with Henry or relieved faces.</p><p>"Sorry." Luana said, as she arrived first. "Can't see him anywhere."</p><p>"Me too." Pauline replied as she arrived. "I don't think he's up here. I'm guessing he isn't out there either?"</p><p>"No, and no one out there knows where he is." Charlie said, feeling her heart race in panic.</p><p>"Okay so, maybe we go back to pitch, maybe he's-"</p><p>"No way, no one saw him there." Charlie interrupted Luana.</p><p>"Okay," She said after a few beats. "Let's split up. I'll ask someone, Remus or Peter, to stay around here. Pauline take the west wing, I'll take the east, Luana take the outside grounds. We'll meet at the great hall every hour, okay?" Charlie finished, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt. Both girls nodded and separated.</p><p>Charlie could feel an icy horrible feeling enter her gut as she ran to the east wing of the castle. She kept thinking of places where Henry might have been, and hoping she, or anyone, found him before he did something stupid.</p><p>+++</p><p>Henry had really hoped no one would find him. He waited for his team to leave behind the pitch, took the longest shower of his life, and even considered if it was worth it getting dressed. After all, after he did, he'd had to go back to the castle, and face the entire Gryffindor house and their disappointment.</p><p>Eventually, Henry did get dressed . As he did, he could feel the coldness of the November air that made him shiver. He made sure to dress slowly. In a weird way he believed he earned to feel that  bitter coldness.</p><p>This was his biggest change to shine, to prove that, even if he was muggleborn, he knew as much quidditch as anyone else. To take his team to glory. To take the cup back to Gryffindor. And yet he hadn't. And he wasn't even close.</p><p>He had a great team, he knew that. But he knew that during the try outs he was a bit more concerned about looking good as captain. And in a way he never let that go. He was so concerned with everything being a captain brought him, that he forgot the what it was about.</p><p>Henry looked at his hands, where his Captain pin was. He didn't deserve it. During his time as captain all he did was brag about it and show the pin off.</p><p>He knew, he couldn't have it. First thing tomorrow, he was going to return it, and latter probably beg the new captain not to kick him out.</p><p>The room was getting colder, and Henry was slightly shivering. And yet he was mortified to move. How could he face the school? his house? Godric, his teammates?! Just the thought of entering the common room made Henry want to puke-</p><p>"There you are." He heard from the door. Henry jumped in his seat, being caught in his thoughts. </p><p>At the entrance, leaning against the door frame, was Luana, still wearing all the red clothes Charlie probably forced onto her.</p><p>"Everyone was worried you know; it's been two hours." She finished, still not moving.</p><p>Henry scowled. The last thing Luana looked was concerned for his well-being.</p><p>"I really don't want to hear it right now okay? So, fuck off." He spat, sitting back onto the bench, looking at the locker in front of him. He could hear her drawn out a long sigh and her slow and sloppy steps towards him.</p><p>Henry clenched his jaw in anger. The last thing he wanted right now was a smart-arse response.</p><p>Luana sat on the bench, but thankfully kept her distance from Henry.</p><p>"You okay?" He heard her ask, in a softer tone than usual. The change in tone made something snap in Henry, who turned to Luana.</p><p>"What do you think?!" He yelled, getting up in frustration. "That had to be the biggest humiliation Gryffindor ever been through ever! I let my house down, my teammates, oh Godric, Professor McGonagall- And you're asking me if I'm okay? I'm not a fucking baby for you to use that tone on me, like I'm some poor little kid who needs to be babied for a little mistake- that was anything but little! We were annihilated out there! How am I supposed to go back to my common room now?!" Henry yelled at Luana. who still had the same stoic look on her face.</p><p>Henry kept moving around, breathing heavily as Luana didn't even speak.</p><p>"Henry." He heard her say after a while. "C'mon, sit." She said, patting the seat next to her.</p><p>Henry rolled his eyes, but still sat, crossing his arms. He was still very angry but his legs were still sore after the disastrous game.</p><p>"No one blames you Henry. The weather was shite and no one expected Hufflepuff to be that good this year." She said, in a calm tone that Henry had never heard from her. Still, he rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Yeah, sure."</p><p>"I'm serious. No one is blaming you and you shouldn't either, it was something that you couldn't control-"</p><p>"Godric, have you not been listening?!" He yelled. "I could've! If I hadn't just been mugging around about this. I just-" He stopped and breathed.</p><p>Truth be told he had no idea where he was going with this, but the fact that she hadn't interrupt him, and was letting him get it all out, yelling or not, made him spill all his thoughts.</p><p>" I feel like I didn't do enough as captain." He finally said after a few seconds.</p><p>He looked at Luana, and she simply nodded her head in understanding. Her face was mostly devoid of any emotion other than an understanding one.</p><p>"I mean, I barely made any training in this last weeks, I didn't practice anything other than the usual drills. I just- I feel like, I let the title get a little into my head, you know? And because of it, I didn't do enough to train my team." He said, wringing his hands, "Godric, my team, how can I even say that? I was pure shite out there; I can't lead. I don't deserve this title." He sighed, resting his head in his hands.</p><p>"Henry, look at me." He heard Luana say.</p><p>He didn't really want to look at her, but since she was letting him rant to his heart's content, he figured he owed her that much.</p><p>He turned and Luana's face now portrait a fiercely serious look. Her eyes, normally always showing her amusement, were now intense with emotion.</p><p>"One game doesn't mean shite. It doesn't mean you don't deserve this post. Leading isn't about yelling commands, it's about knowing your team and to best work with them. It's to grow with and around it. Look at you right now. This attitude just showed me how you're growing. And I know that no one else in that team knows their teammates as well as you do. Sure, your first game was wonky, but no one is expected to perform perfectly always. It's just the first time. You've learned from this, and now you can grow and lead the team better than anyone." She said, and Henry could see how she believed in everything she said. "I believe in you, Henry. I think it's time you do too." She finished.</p><p>Henry wasn't sure what it was. Maybe the quiet ambient around them, maybe the fierce determined and seriousness of Luana or maybe simply her words, but Henry never appreciated someone more than in that exact moment.</p><p>Henry smiled, feeling a bit better about the situation. Luana smiled too, and squeezed his arm, getting up.</p><p>As if on instinct, dread filled Henry once more, and he grabbed Luana's arm.</p><p>"Wait." He said. He hated how small he felt, almost as if hiding behind her, hoping for security. "I don't think I'm ready to go out there yet."</p><p>"That's fine." She replied, sitting down once more. "We'll stay here until you're ready."</p><p>"I don't think I'll ever be. Just the idea of seeing them all-" Henry stopped. Even saying it felt embarrassing.</p><p>Still, Luana was nothing but patient and understanding, features so unlike her. She patted his hand that was still holding her arm.</p><p>"Trust me, everyone is too caught up in themselves to even think of you right now. But mostly they're worried too, it's been a while since they saw you. " She replied. "Plus, you <br/>Gryffindors don't seem like the type to even allow someone to suffer in silence, I'm sure you'll hug in a group and tried to get this over as a team." Luana finished, feigning a disgusted look.</p><p>Henry chuckled and nodded his head.</p><p>"Yeah, that seems pretty accurate." He said.</p><p>Luana seemed pleased with his answer and grinned, still holding her hand over his. The two sat like that, in a comfortable silence for a while.</p><p>Every now and then, Henry could feel himself get nervous and would squeeze Luana's arm a bit too tightly. She would immediately soothe him by stroking his hand, and talking to him in her soft tone.</p><p>Sometimes she'd say encouragements like "It's okay" or "We can stay here for as long as you like", other times she'd simply try to distract him by telling him random facts, "You know I heard humans shed 40 pounds of skin in their lifetimes" or "Did you know that a donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule won't?" which would always make him laugh and chit chat a bit, managing to make him forget about his worries.</p><p>"You've got to be shitting me." He said, smiling.</p><p>"I'm serious! It's something about their density or the quicksand's density?" Luana said, trailing in the end. Henry snickered.</p><p>"So, you don't even know for sure?" He inquired as he smirked.</p><p>"Well , I used to know but it's not like it's such important information that my brain makes an effort to know it perfectly." She replied, pouting stubbornly.</p><p>"Right." Henry replied amused. Luana playfully huffed.</p><p>"This coming from a bloke who didn't even know mules can't even reproduce." Now it was Henry's turn to pout stubbornly.</p><p>"Well, I'm sorry I'm a simple city bloke. Not all of us grow up knowing weird facts about mules." He said. Luana quirked an eyebrow and stuck her tongue out.</p><p>" Well you should, you never know, they might save your life someday."</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure." Henry replied, chuckling a bit. They both fell silent for a while.</p><p>"Hey Lu?" Henry asked. He was sure that, if this was any other time, he'd definitely get hit for calling her Lu, but Luana simply hummed in acknowledge.</p><p>"Thank you, for letting me rant. And staying here with me. And for being nice even if-"</p><p>"It's fine." She cut him off. Honestly, Henry was relieved, he had no idea where he was going with that. Luana smiled at him. "After all, that's what friends do for each other."</p><p>Her smile was reassuring, and Henry smiled too.</p><p>He had never seen him and Luana being much of friends, but he was glad she thought they were. He squeezed her arm once again and she, like clockwork, started to stroke his hand in a soothing pattern, turning to look at him. Before she could speak however, Henry spoke.</p><p>"I think I'm ready now." He said, voice wavering a bit.</p><p>Luana simply smiled and waited for him to get up. This time Henry kept his hands to himself ( how weird would it be if he just showed up clutching Luana?) and Luana thankfully didn't seemed to care either way.</p><p>Together, the two made the long way back to the castle, and eventually, to the Gryffindor common room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The next update will be on the 14th of October.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 8- 𝐿𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑑𝑎𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translations: </p><p>*-  Roughly translates to " I don't give a fuck about your rules."</p><p>**- Roughly translates to "You think you're so clever."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On the morning of December 5th, Charlie jumped out of bed, two hours before school even started. Normally, Charlie would rather die than to wake up early, however, today was a special day.</p><p>Charlie tip toed to Pauline, who was already awake. In fact, she was staring at her bed ceiling, as if considering her lives choices. Charlie wasn't truly surprised by this; even if it was a regular day, Pauline was an early birdie even if a part of her seemed to absolutely hate it.</p><p>"You're ready?" Charlie whispered.</p><p>"Yes." she whispered back, rising from bed. "Still don't understand why we can't use water."</p><p>"Its December, Line. That's just cruel."</p><p>"Oh but when it's me..." Pauline trailed, walking to Luana's bed. As usual, Luana slept like a rock, and both Pauline and Charlie grinned.</p><p>Pauline muttered a silencing spell as Charlie pressed the air horn. She made a mental note to thank Aunt Beatrice later for buying it for her.</p><p>Luana's eyes opened as she shrieks in alarm and sat in her bed. She looked around, probably for someone to murder her. When her eyes rested on Charlie, she glared.</p><p>"I fucking hate you." she said.</p><p>Charlie grinned and jumped on her bed, slapping Luana's stomach repeatedly.</p><p>"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Charlie yelled.</p><p>Pauline laughed and jumped on the bed as well, smacking Luana's legs to the rhythm of 'Happy birthday'. Charlie joined in and the two sang it very off key.</p><p>"Okay, enough." Luana yelled. Both Pauline and Luana stopped the smacking but kept leaning on Luana.</p><p>"Was that all that necessary?"</p><p>"Well, Line wanted to throw you water-"</p><p>"-Of course she did-"</p><p>"-But I thought that was too mean, even by our standards."</p><p>"Oh? Did you now? Well I'm glad someone has a brain in this dorm."</p><p>"I resent that." Pauline quipped, while drawing random patterns on Luana's leg.</p><p>"Then resent it." Luana answered, trying to get up. Charlie's eyes widen and she put her full weight on Luana's stomach</p><p>"No, no, no, you know the rules." Charlie said and Pauline nodded, locking Luana's legs in place.</p><p>Luana groaned and let her head hit her pillow.</p><p>"But I hate that rule."</p><p>"Well tough luck because we love it." Pauline replies, quickly getting up and reaching under her bed. Charlie got up and did the same.</p><p>Luana simply glared as both girls tucked themselves in her bed, one on each side.</p><p>"I don't get why you insist on doing this, we didn't do it for Line's birthday."</p><p>"That's because it was in the summer. We would have died if we got under the covers."</p><p>"All I hear is excuses." Luana muttered. Pauline rolled her eyes but grinned as she stuck her present in Luana's face.</p><p>Luana took it and lightly shook it.</p><p>"This feels expensive." she reprehended.</p><p>"Shut up and open it."</p><p>"Pauline, you know my rule. Nothing over 5 galleons."</p><p>"Rien à foutre de tes règles*." Pauline muttered. Luana looked her in the eye and quirked and eyebrow.</p><p>"Muito espertinha que tu és **." she replied.</p><p>"I hate it when you do that."</p><p>"Do what?" Luana asked innocently.</p><p>Pauline glared at her.</p><p>"Speak Portuguese with that weird accent so I don't understand."</p><p>"I don't have a weird accent." Luana replied, offended. "Plus, it's my mother language, am I not allowed to speak it on my own birthday?"</p><p>"English is your mother's language, why can't you just speak that?"</p><p>"Talking pretty confident for a girl who mutters a whole lot in French." Luana replied.</p><p>"Oh, for fucks sake." Charlie interrupted. "Just open the fucking gift already."</p><p>Luana stuck her tongue out but did so nevertheless. Pauline's gift was a collection of fantasy books which made Luana eyes flashed and she tried to hold a grin.</p><p>"You went way over budget." She muttered angrily as she hugged Pauline.</p><p>Charlie placed her gift Luana's lap and grinned. Normally Charlie had a harder time to shop for Luana. While Pauline had a secret amazing music taste for muggle music, helped by her squib aunt, Luana didn't. She'd listen to whatever the girls put on, but she didn't have a so called favourite genre or even singer. So, Charlie usually opted by gifting Luana something from the magical world.</p><p>Luana's lips thinned as she evaluated the gift. She quirked an eyebrow at Charlie, as she could tell Charlie too went over the ridiculous small limit Luana had ruled.</p><p>"Just zip it and open it." Charlie said.</p><p>Luana sighed but opened it.</p><p>It was also a book (Charlie now realised she should have talked to Pauline about some planning), that talked about the wizarding society in Europe and how to enter the determined places depending on the country.</p><p>Luana remained passive as she always did whenever the girls went over the price limit, (like that would ever stop them for doing it again) but Charlie saw her eyes widen and flash.</p><p>"Seems expensive." Luana said, but Charlie flipped her off and hugged her.</p><p>Luana laughed but still told the girls off for going over budget.</p><p>The remaining hour, they all spent it in Luana's bed, looking at the books and finishing off Luana's not so secret stash of candy.</p><p>Afterwards, they all got ready for classes which Charlie thought it was somewhat funny since, like every year on her birthday, Pauline tried not to yell at Luana to stop playing around and actually get ready.</p><p>In the end, they managed to arrive at the great hall with half an hour extra, enough time for Luana to open her letters from home that arrived.</p><p>As usual, Luana's aunt got her some ugly bracelets and her uncle gave her some weird coins, that Luana latter said were called 'Escudos', the Portuguese coin.</p><p>Pauline's mother, as usual, send a small cake and a card wishing Luana a happy birthday.</p><p>Luana's parents had gotten her a new pair of shoes and her grandparents had gotten her a new pair of jeans.</p><p>"Oh, thank God." Luana said as she held the jeans. "I hate wearing that old pair."</p><p>"You know if you wanted some jeans-" Charlie said only to be interrupted by Luana's glare.</p><p>"Jeans are over the budget." she said.</p><p>Charlie opened her mouth to argue back but was interrupted by Henry's arrival.</p><p>"Mornin' Ladies." He said and turned to Luana, grinning wildly. "Happy Birthday Sunshine." He said, sitting down next to her as he ruffled lightly her hair.</p><p>Luana groaned and glared at Charlie.</p><p>"What?" Charlie said. "Since you two are friends now I don't see the harm."</p><p>"I even got you a gift." Henry said and Luana's glare on Charlie intensified.</p><p>Henry laid on the table a badly wrapped gift, and Luana quirked an eyebrow at him.</p><p>"Nice wrapping." She said.</p><p>"Since it's your birthday I'll let that pass."</p><p>Luana opened the wrapping and removed a book. Charlie left like face-palming.</p><p>Next year she really needed to talk to everyone beforehand.</p><p>"Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972." Luana read out loud as she turned the book over to read the back. Henry cringed.</p><p>"Yeah, well my mum chose it, I told her how you like history and your price limit so I guess she didn't find alo-"</p><p>"I love it!" Luana said, smiling broadly.</p><p>All three looked incredibly surprised. Charlie could tell Pauline was surprised for the same reason as Charlie's: Luana's happy expression while before she only tried to portray a neutral one. Charlie assumed Henry was surprised because he didn't think she'd like the gift as much as she did.</p><p>"Really?" He asked in astonishment.</p><p>"Yes, I don't know much of Britain's history and it's in my budget? It's perfect." She replied as she patted Henry's back.</p><p>Henry considered Luana's words and shrug, grin back on his face.</p><p>"Glad you like it."</p><p>"Why didn't you smile like that with our gifts?" Pauline whined as she rested her head on her fist, which only made her pout look bigger.</p><p>"You idiots went over budget, neutrality is your punishment."</p><p>"It's a lousy punishment."</p><p>"Hush." Luana said, trying to hide a smirk.</p><p>On her side, Henry tried to, very discreetly, steal some bacon from Luana's plate. She immediately caught him of course and slapped his hand away. Henry yelped and held his hand close to his chest.</p><p>"Must you be like this? I'm just hungry." He whined.</p><p>"Yes, I must be like this. Even on my birthday, you try and take my bacon."</p><p>"Well with all the secrecy I figured you wanted us to treat you the same as every day." Henry replied, biting a bit of his stolen bacon. Luana's eyes narrowed but Charlie could see there was no malicious in it.</p><p>The new friendship between Henry and Luana was easily one of the weirdest things Charlie was forced to witness. Ever since the Gryffindor quidditch game that the two seemed to get along. The second she saw them, walking side by side, without Luana trying to rip Henry's head off, Charlie knew something weird had happened.</p><p>She has, of course asked, but Luana wouldn't say anything and all Henry said was that she proved to be an amazing friend. Charlie had guessed that, after seeing him in a bad place, Luana had talked with him. She always seemed to know when someone needed to hear some encouragement the most, and exactly how to say it.</p><p>The worst part about this dynamic was, whenever they got bored of playfully taking jabs at each other, they would jab Charlie. If she had to listen to Henry tell one more embarrassing tale of her childhood, she was going to lose it.</p><p>"You think you're so slick huh" Charlie snapped out of her thoughts and looked around. Luana and Henry were still at it.</p><p>"Very." He said, using his quidditch improve reflexes to quickly steal another piece of bacon.</p><p>Luana took a deep breath and glared at Henry.</p><p>"Alright that's enough, there's bacon right there. If I see you take anything from my plate you're going to lose that hand Ellis."</p><p>"Duly noted Sunshine" henry smirked as he made a spectacle of munching on his stolen piece of bacon.</p><p>Pauline tried to hide her giggles but the two caught her still.</p><p>"What are you laughing at?" Luana asked, stealing some buttered toast from Pauline's plate.</p><p>Pauline's jaw dropped as she saw Luana bite into her toast.</p><p>"You're lucky it's your Birthday." She said. Luana grinned and winked as Henry laughed and laughed even harder as he looked behind Pauline. Luana's expression fell as Charlie heard a squeal.</p><p>Quickly turning behind her, Charlie saw Maeve, who looked like it was her Birthday.</p><p>"It's your Birthday?!" She screamed, easily grabbing the attention of the nearby Ravenclaws. Most politely wished for a happy birthday as Maeve ran the entire extension of the table. As she finally reached them again, she threw herself at Luana.</p><p>"Merlin, Happy Birthday!" She squealed. Luana faked a laugh and patted her back as she glared at Pauline over Maeve's shoulder. Henry kept chuckling at Luana's misery, that is until Charlie kicked him in the shin.</p><p>Finally, Maeve let go of Luana and sat next to her, forcing Henry to move.</p><p>"Why didn't you say something?" Maeve asked. "I didn't even get you something." She finished, pouting.</p><p>Luana shrugged. "Its fine, I was trying to keep it a bit under wraps this ye-"</p><p>"Oh! I know!" Maeve said "We'll have a party! In our dorm!" She squealed.</p><p>Luana was already shaking her head when Pauline quipped.</p><p>"Yeah, she'll love it." She said quietly. Pauline's face was burning up from speaking up, but Charlie could she a spark in her eyes.</p><p>"Yes!" Henry spoke loudly. "But there's just a little problem." he said.</p><p>Maeve turned to him and owlishly blink twice.</p><p>"Problem?" she said, her voice cracking.</p><p>"Well, if it's in your dorms, I can't be there." He stated pouting.</p><p>Maeve's eyes widen and a smile broke in her face.</p><p>"You? There?" She whispered dreamily. She seemed stuck in a daze for a few seconds but quickly shook it off. "Yes! You're right! It has to be in the common room."</p><p>"Exactly!"</p><p>"Actually-" Luana tried to interrupt.</p><p>"It's settled, then. " Maeve said. "I'll go tell everyone I know!" She squealed, quickly getting up.</p><p>"You do that!" Henry yelled after her. He turned to Luana and grinned.</p><p>"Why." She simply asked.</p><p>"It's your 14th birthday! Only happens once! We've got to celebrate. See you later Sunshine." He playfully winked, getting up and heading towards the Gryffindor table.</p><p>Luana sighed. "It's like he likes being on my bad side." She muttered. Her eyes soon jumped to Pauline as she glared. "And you! I expect this from him or even Charlie, but you?" She replied.</p><p>Pauline shrugged her shoulders. "It's your punishment for punishing us."</p><p>+++</p><p>Truth be told, Charlie didn't expect much from this party. After all, it was Wednesday and a week away from pop quizzes and essays to be handed in.</p><p>But this was a perfect example on how little Charlie actually knew her house.</p><p>Apparently, Maeve knew a lot of people and not only did the Ravenclaws of their year appear, but also the ones from the years above. Mostly 4th and 6th years, but every so often Charlie could see some 7th years who seemed to need a break from studying for their NEWTS.</p><p>Worst of all was the sudden appearance of so many Gryffindors. Seemed that Henry just couldn't help himself, and invited his dorm to a party that wasn't his. The boys invited their girlfriends who invited the rest of their dorms and somehow the news of a party got to the ears of the 3rd year boys and girls.</p><p>"Christ." Luana muttered as she looked around.</p><p>"Maeve really outdid herself" Pauline muttered.</p><p>The entire Ravenclaw common room was pure chaos, as they could barely see the entrance door. Some 6th years ( most likely mates of Henry) had smuggled some butterbeers and fire whiskeys for the older ones.</p><p>"HEY!" Charlie heard. Looking around she saw Rory coming in their direction.</p><p>"I didn't know it was your Birthday! Congrats!" He said, hugging Luana. Luana accepted it (probably since it was Rory) and took the extra butterbeer from his hands.</p><p>"Yeah well, I wasn't planning on telling people."</p><p>"Then why did you tell Maeve?"</p><p>"I didn't, she overheard."</p><p>"Yeah that makes more sense. Tough luck then, if there's something she likes, is to throw parties." Rory replied, settling close to Charlie.</p><p>Eventually, they all decided to walk around. They found Lily, who was accompanied by Mary and had stopped by to say happy birthday to Luana. From the side, Charlie could see James, Sirius , Remus and Peter and tried her best to avoid them.</p><p>In the end they ended up at the same place, but with fewer people: Pauline was dragged by Althea Graham, who wanted a second opinion on her DADA homework ("who asks about that in a party?" Rory asked).</p><p>"Oh Merlin." Rory said, choking on his drink. Charlie looked at laughed at the butterbeer that was dripping down his chin.</p><p>"What?" She asked and Rory simply pointed.</p><p>"Is that Amory?" Luana asked, looking in the same direction as Rory and Charlie.</p><p>Indeed Valentina Amory , a girl who didn't seem particularly interested in being friends with the girls, was at the party.</p><p>"Maybe she was studying herself to death" Luana said.</p><p>The three watched as Valentina, who had her thick curly hair loose tonight, was adjusting herself, making sure she looked perfect, as she slowly walked in the direction of the 5th year Gryffindors.</p><p>As Charlie kept watching, she noticed that Valentina had a specific target in mind: Henry.</p><p>Luana snorted in amusement and Charlie assumer she came to the same conclusion as her.</p><p>"Poor Maeve." she said, eyes sparkling in amusement. "Looks like she has some competition."</p><p>The three kept watching, as if the scene had locked them in a daze.</p><p>Valentina arrived to the 5th year boys who mostly ignored her and continued chatting. She seemed to clear her throat and approach Henry in a very obvious way.</p><p>From the distance, Charlie had no idea what she said to him, but it all seemed very awkward. She guessed that Valentina, a very smart girl dedicated to her studies, had read one too many romance books, since all she did was flick her hair and blink at Henry. Every now and then she'd giggle and look down but it was clear from Henry's face that he wasn't trying to be funny at all.</p><p>Still, after a few minutes, Henry seemed to go along since he very obviously started to flirt back. Charlie didn't even need to hear him to know it was probably the same exact way he flirted with Amelia during family dinners.</p><p>And just as Charlie was done watching, something happened. From the depths of the party immerged Jorkins, the girl who had been begging Henry for a date since October.</p><p>Luana gasped as she continuously slapped Charlie's arm.</p><p>"Yeah I know I'm seeing it." she replied.</p><p>"What am I missing?" Rory asked and Luana filled him in as fast as she could.</p><p>The three watched as Jorkins charged towards the pair.</p><p>Luana was the first to start laughing, as soon as she saw Henrys face when Jorkins arrived. Rory was next, starting when Valentina did a shocked and annoyed face. And Charlie was the last one, only when both girls turned to Henry.</p><p>Their laughs must have been loud, since Henry was able to find them in the mess that was the common room. From the distance, he flashed the trio a look of help.</p><p>Charlie however, didn't exactly feel like helping, having to move over there and come up with an excuse felt like too much work to do on a Wednesday night.</p><p>She looked at Luana expectantly.</p><p>"What? He's your cousin!"</p><p>Charlie continued to stare, using her puppy eyes on Luana.</p><p>Luana groaned.</p><p>"Honestly, on my own birthday..." she protested and walked their way. As she got there, she started to jump and drag Henry away towards the drinks. The two girls seemed to complain (a lot) but one glare from Luana and they both stopped.</p><p>The scene stopped being funny as Luana just dragged Henry to the closest table with fire whiskey and served two servings. Henry tried to grab one but Luana held both to her chest, sipping from both ( her face after drinking was funny but not enough to keep Charlie engaged).</p><p>"And there goes the entertainment." Charlie commented.</p><p>"We could always watch those two." Rory suggested</p><p>"It isn't as funny now a days".</p><p>Rory hummed.</p><p>"Can't believe I'm missing astronomy for this" Rory said.</p><p>"I know right" Charlie replied, sighing dreamily. "What a great day."</p><p>Rory playfully glared and poked Charlie's arm.</p><p>"I wanted to see if you'd say the same thing if it was Herbology."</p><p>Charlie smiled.</p><p>"Well if it was Herbology-"</p><p>"What's going on here?" Charlie turned towards the voice and groaned. Sirius had decided to grace them with his presence, looking very suspiciously between Charlie and Rory.</p><p>"What do you want Sirius?" Charlie asked dryly. The last thing she wanted right now was to be asked what Henry's thoughts on muggle candy were.</p><p>"Just came to check on you, you know since your cousin trusted me to do so" he replied, with an air arrogance.</p><p>Charlie and Rory both shared a look, and Charlie could see how close Rory was to laughing.</p><p>"You know he was joking right?"</p><p>"So you say." Sirius said, looking between Charlie and Rory once again.</p><p>"Cauthorn, right?" He asked.</p><p>Rory seemed to swallow his laughter and faked seriousness.</p><p>"Yes, sir." He replied, saluting Sirius.</p><p>Sirius narrowed his eyes, but Charlie assumed he didn't truly understand the movement.</p><p>"You seem alright." Sirius said, after staring at Rory for a few moments. "Just keep your hands to yourself. I just so happen to be very good friends with her cousin-"</p><p>" you're acquaintances at best-"</p><p>"- and he asked me to look after her-"</p><p>"A joke, I keep telling you-"</p><p>"-and I intend to do so." Sirius finished, ignoring Charlie.</p><p>Rory nodded and looked behind Sirius.</p><p>"Hey" he said. "Is that Pettigrew chatting up Yates?"</p><p>Sirius head turned to the scene. Peter was in fact trying to chat with Cecilia Yates, who looked horrified with the prospect.</p><p>"Oh fuck." he said, quickly going that way.</p><p>"Nice save."</p><p>"Thanks." Rory replies, grinning so wildly Charlie could see all his front teeth. Some, especially on the bottom, were crooked, which just made the smile cuter in Charlie's opinion.</p><p>A whistle was heard, and Charlie turned her gaze onto Henry, who was on top of a table. Around him, some Ravenclaws seemed to be shocked he even dared to do such a thing.</p><p>"Now people," he yelled. "Time to sing Happy Birthday to the Birthday girl!" He yelled, turning to a tipsy Luana who until then had been laughing at the way Henry swayed.</p><p>Her eyes widen as Henry as his mates pulled her as well to the table. Henry and Robin, Henry's friend, both threw their arms over Luana's shoulders, forcing her to sway side to side as the two sang at the top of their lungs.</p><p>If she wasn't probably tipsy, Charlie was sure Luana would have hated the entire scene. However, after a few gulps of fire whiskey and butterbeer, Luana was grinning, letting the two boys away her.</p><p>Another of Henry's friend, Walter she thought his name was, brought a single cupcake with a candle on it.</p><p>Mostly everyone joined in, though it they weren't screaming like the Gryffindor boys. Charlie grinned as she sang the end and saw Luana blow the fire off the candle. There was a big cheer, mostly because everyone wanted to go back to what they were doing, but Charlie continued watching.</p><p>The cupcake was passed down to Henry, who handed it to Luana after he spoke. She had no idea what he said but Luana rolled her eyes and seemed to thank him, so Charlie assumed he wished her a happy birthday again.</p><p>It's a pity, really, that at the time Charlie didn't know that was the happiest she would see Luana for a long time.</p><p>+++<br/>"So" Charlie said. "What's going to be?" She asked, looking around.</p><p>On her left side, was Anne, looking at the sheet of parchment on the wall. And in her right, was Henry, who seemed to be massaging the small amount of scruff he had.</p><p>"Well," Henry said. "If we stay, I can't see my mum."</p><p>"But if we go, we have a New Year's party with the Armfields." Anne added.</p><p>"Christmas dinner is at ours this year, so it's also Aunt Marie, Uncle Will and Andy. But I'm sure grandma Cecilia won't stop making her little comments at mum." Charlie said.</p><p>"Meaning me and mom will have a show." Henry said, sighing. "But at what cost?"</p><p>"Wasn't your mum going to invite the bloke she's dating?"</p><p>Henry grunted, which Charlie assumed was a yes.</p><p>"So, you'd either be grumpy or clingy to us"</p><p>"Fuck off"</p><p>"You know I'm right."</p><p>"Well," Anne quipped. "I'm going either way; Esther is going so there's no point in me staying." She finished, going to sign the sheet to inform she was going home for the holidays.</p><p>Charlie turned to Henry.</p><p>"Any friends of yours are staying?"</p><p>Henry huffed. "I wished. Though Robin did invite me to his for New Year's so we'll see."</p><p>Now it was Charlie's time to huff. "You? Missing an opportunity to flirt with Amelia? Yeah, right."</p><p>"No matter how cute she is, I'd rather die than to have to listen to grandpa Mark and another of his school stories."</p><p>Charlie hummed.</p><p>"What about you? Are your friends staying?"</p><p>Charlie shook her head. "Luana is going home and Line's parents were invited to spent Christmas at her aunt's place."</p><p>"We could always stay, keep each other company." Henry proposed, but Charlie shook her head.</p><p>"I think its best if we go. You can go annoy Robin and ill plan something with Pauline."</p><p>Henry grunted, but joined Charlie in signing the sheet, nevertheless. After he finished, he threw his arm over Anne's shoulder.</p><p>"Let's go Annie, back to the Common room."</p><p>Anne tried to sway his arm as he pulled them up the stairs.</p><p>"I've told you not to call me that! Much less in public!"</p><p>Charlie saw Henry turned back to look at her, an incredulous look on his face as he mouthed 'Are you hearing this?'.</p><p>Charlie snorted and turned to the opposite hall, already fearing having to guess the riddle the eagle at the door would give her.</p><p>Still, Charlie smiled. She liked Hogwarts, very much so, but there was something about home that always made Charlie giddy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N:   </p><p>Next update will be on the 21st of October.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 9- 𝐴 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Okay, so how about Thursday?" Charlie asked. In front of her, Pauline looked at her notebook and shook her head.</p><p>"We're doing a tour of London that day. You've got anything for Sunday?"</p><p>Charlie nodded. "Family day, dad managed to get the week off and he wants to enjoy it."</p><p>Pauline sighed and let her back fall against the wall of the compartment. It really was weird how many students stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas by their own choice; this year stayed so many the two girls managed to get a compartment just for them.</p><p>Charlie looked out the window. It was a pity Luana port keyed home, she above all would know exactly how to enjoy an empty compartment.</p><p>"How is this so hard?" Pauline complained and Charlie turned her to her.</p><p>Of all the times to wear a dress, right now in mid December seemed like the worst time ever. And yet Pauline had decided it was perfect. Her dress was knee height and navy blue. It had sleeves and a turtleneck. Thankfully she had listened to Charlie on how much of a bad idea this was had worn her thickest stockings with some Mary Janes. Her red hair was tied into a tight braid and her eyes were still tingling.</p><p>Charlie figured that the idea of seeing her family again made her extremely happy.</p><p>"I don't know." Charlie finally answered. "How about next Monday?" She asked.</p><p>Pauline shook her head. "We're going to Wales."</p><p>"Don't you think you will all get tired from all this jumping around?"</p><p>Pauline shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't my plan; you know how my cousins are."</p><p>"All your cousins are going to be here?"</p><p>"Yes." Pauline replied, with a slight hesitation.</p><p>"Even the cute one?" Pauline sighed, but still nodded.</p><p>Charlie smirked. She didn't even need to say his name for Pauline to know exactly who she meant. During their first year, Pauline's cousin, Jean-Baptist Brodeur was in his last, and was always helpful whenever the girls didn't know where a class was. Sadly, unlike Henry, he didn't hover much afterwards. At the time Charlie would have probably done anything to see his cheeky smile and dark eyes. To this day when she thinks of him she gets a small tingle in her stomach.</p><p>"Good." She finally said. Pauline scowled and threw a jelly bean at Charlie. Charlie somehow managed to catch it with her mouth.</p><p>Both girls stared at each other for a while, in pure amazement.</p><p>Of course, that the rest of the journey back to London was spent trying to recreate the moment.</p><p>In the end, Pauline managed to catch 4 and Charlie 3.</p><p>By the time Charlie was trying to take a jelly bean from her hair, the train slowed, eventually stopping.</p><p>Charlie looked out of the window and Pauline did the same.</p><p>The platform was crowded with extended families who came to pass the holidays.</p><p>Pauline squealed and pointed frantically to the middle, where after a lot of squinting, Charlie could see Pauline's family.</p><p>It was kind of ironic to Charlie that Pauline, who hated being an only child, had such a big family. On her mother's side she had 4 aunts, who all married and had children. Some of those who already married and had their own toddlers.</p><p>Pauline had always said she felt a bit out of place in her family, especially since her mother had her so late. Most of her cousins were way older than her so she had to settle with only her younger cousin, who by Pauline's words, was always weird.</p><p>Pauline's family made most of the middle of the platform. Most were looking around, curious with the platform. Others, like Pauline's aunt Marie-Thérèse, were almost jumping on their toes. Charlie figured that Pauline's aunt had never been this much time away from her son. Looking around, she was bummed to see Jean-Baptist with his fiancée, but quickly lying got over it when she saw her own family.</p><p>Granted, not all had showed up. Only her aunt Beatrice and much to the surprise of Charlie, had dad had showed up.</p><p>Her father, who always had a hard time with all the magic part of their lives, was looking around, talking happily with his sister. It was truly a weird sight.</p><p>Her aunt, small and hyper, in simple jeans and a jumper, and her father, all prim and proper, with his dark hair gelled, his shoes shinning and his best office suit perfectly placed.</p><p>"Look!" She squealed. "My dad came!"</p><p>Charlie felt Pauline's head turn to where Charlie was frantically pointing.</p><p>"Perfect!" Pauline replied. "Do you think he'll mind if I ask him a few questions? I've got muggle studies homework and Luana refuses to tell me the real use for electricity."</p><p>"Sure, why not?" Charlie said, not really paying attention as she quickly moved away from the window and to the door.</p><p>In fact , she left so quick that she accidentally left her trunk and Yaris in the compartment. Thankfully Yaris, who turns out doesn't appreciate being left behind, hooted loudly.</p><p>"Sorry, sorry!" Charlie said, grabbing Yaris' cage. Yaris, being the very lovely owl she is, tried to bite Charlie, who accepted her punishment.</p><p>Pauline helped bring Charlie's trunk and in return Charlie helped bring her down. Thank Merlin both trunks were light, carrying only some schoolbooks and some winter clothes.</p><p>Walking down the train, Charlie looked in every compartment. In the middle, she found Henry, goofing with his friends.</p><p>When he saw her, he got up and said goodbye to his friends.</p><p>"Took you long enough." he said, grabbing his own trunk.</p><p>"Yes, you seemed ever so concerned out there." Charlie replied drily, deciding that it's best if she just kept walking.</p><p>In the very last compartment, Charlie found her sister. Anne and her friend seemed to be wrestling Anne's trunk, not even making it move. Next to the trunk, Alfred mewed loudly , as if he wasn't accustomed to the lack of attention.</p><p>Henry sighed and entered the compartment. Both girls backed away, and Charlie could see the smug face her sister held as Henry pulled her trunk.</p><p>Even Henry seemed to have some difficulty with it, but was able to managed. He threw a glare at Anne.</p><p>"What the hell do you have in here? A dead body?" He grumbled. He managed to get it in the perfect position to force Anne to pull it herself the rest of the way.</p><p>"Well I had to bring my clothes! And books, for schoolwork-"</p><p>"Funny how in the beginning of the term your trunk wasn't this heavy, with the same amount of things."</p><p>Anne flushed.</p><p>"Well- I may have brought some library books as well-"</p><p>"Of course, you did." Henry sighed. "Okay, Annie, grab my trunk so I can carry yours." Henry didn't really sound like he wanted to carry the heavy trunk, but he also did have a weird sense of protector when it came to his family, especially to Anne.</p><p>Anne expression soured and she stomped her foot.</p><p>"Why do I have to take your trunk? Can't you take it?" She whined. Henry stated at her.</p><p>"You can always carry your own trunk then and I-" Henry was interrupted by an enormous groan from Anne, who (after sighing a lot) grabbed Henry's trunk.</p><p>Anne's friend, <em>Esther </em> Charlie thought she heard Anne say once, was still blinking owlishly at Henry. Henry, who must not have felt in the mood to soak all that arrogance he normally got when a girl looked at him like that, simply smiled awkwardly and left the compartment.</p><p>"I should have stayed in the castle." Charlie heard Henry mutter.</p><p>At last, the four managed to leave the train. Charlie and Pauline went first, deciding to pull their own trunks out instead of asking Henry, who seemed to struggle hard with lowering Anne's trunk.</p><p>The two looked at each other and quickly hugged. They never did settle on a date, but they could still send letters trying to.</p><p>"See you soon, hopefully." Pauline said, breaking the hug.</p><p>"Have a terrific Christmas Line." Charlie grinned as she waved at her friend, who ran to her family.</p><p>Once they spotted Pauline, she was engulfed in the mess and Charlie lost sight of her.</p><p>She did, however, get a very enthusiastic wave from her parents. Charlie grinned and waved back.</p><p>"Finally." she heard Henry groan for behind her. At last, he had managed to bring down Anne's trunk.</p><p>"Forget quidditch practice, this is all the training I need." He said, between breaths. Anne tried to put a show on how she couldn't lift Henry's light trunk, but when she noticed how her cousin didn't even glance her way, she scolded and pulled the trunk. Granted, her small frame did have some troubles with it, but in the end she managed.</p><p>The trio made their way to their parents. The second Aunt Beatrice spotted Henry she grinned as wide as ever and started to run to him. Following his sisters gaze, Charlie's dad found his 2 daughters, and grinned as well.</p><p>He quickly came to Charlie's aid, who was closest, and took her trunk. He gave her a side hug and squeezed a bit too tight for Charlie's liking. Still, she grinned and squeezed back. Not even a second later, Charlie could feel her sister dropping Henry's trunk and joining the hug.</p><p>"I missed you two so much." Charlie's dad said, squeezing them once more. He lowered himself down a bit to be able to kiss both their foreheads. "How was magic school?"</p><p>Charlie knew her dad didn't really have that much interest. Even after all this time magic was a weird topic, since her dad still felt lightheaded whenever Charlie's mum used it.</p><p>"It was great-" Charlie started, but was quickly interrupted.</p><p>"Charlie went to Hogsmeade and didn't get me anything." She said, pouting.</p><p>"Anne got detention for not doing three homeworks on a row." Charlie replied.</p><p>"Girls, girls." her dad said. His face quickly furrowed. "What's a Hogsmeade?"</p><p>Anne opened her mouth but was interrupted by the arrival of Aunt Beatrice and Henry.</p><p>Aunt Beatrice quickly hugged both girls, asking them how it was, as Henry went straight for Charlie's dad.</p><p>As usual, Charlie's dad straightened his back and hold his hand out for Henry to shake, but Henry simply dumped Anne's trunk handle on it. Charlie's dad buckled in the slightest with the weight, but quickly recovered.</p><p>"There you go, Uncle Charles. Annie's trunk. Good to see you." Henry patted his Uncle's back, who was struggling to hold both of the girls trunks.</p><p>The platform started to clear as families went thought the barrier, and Charlie's family soon followed. Giving once quick glance to the platform, Charlie couldn't see Pauline's family anymore, but managed to wave goodbye to Lily and her family. After also getting a glimpse of Remus and James, Charlie decided to stop looking before she regretted it. Merlin knows the last thing she needed know was for Sirius to come and start praising Aunt Beatrice for giving birth to Henry.</p><p>The five made their way out of the barrier and to the Muggle world. In the parking lot, Charlie saw her father getting into a car she hadn't seen before. She rolled her eyes as Aunt Beatrice explain how Charlie's father had switched the old car that they had since Anne, to some new flashier model.</p><p>Aunt Beatrice rode in the front, with Charlie's father driving.</p><p>Both Charlie and Henry forced Anne to go in the middle, a burden she'd have to carry for being the youngest.</p><p>She scowled but agreed, nevertheless.</p><p>The ride was horrible in Charlie's opinion. The three in the back were crowded, which got worse when Henry fell asleep and sprawled himself on top of Anne. Anne, while trying to escape, was basically in Charlie's lap, who after her father told her to, had to be nice to her sister and allow this.</p><p>After what felt hours, they arrived at Henry's flat. Anne had the pleasure of slapping Henry awake, and Charlie looked out the window as her father got out to help with Henry's trunk.</p><p>As she looked, she saw her dad shake Henry's hand and hug his sister.</p><p>Charlie always thought her dad's relationship with Aunt Beatrice was weird. Her father had told her that, growing up, the two used to sneak into the cinemas. But as they grew older, they grew apart. Her father never told her why, but Charlie was sure that Grandpa Mark's ridiculous expectations had something to do with it. After all, her father was a lawyer who didn't seem to enjoy it that much. He always complained that the firm gave him too many hours.</p><p>The two siblings hugged for a long time and Charlie found it odd that her father said they didn't get along as grown-ups when now they're clearly very close.</p><p>After they separated, her father got into the car again.</p><p>"Okay then," he said looking at the girls through the review mirror. "How about we go eat some waffles?"</p><p>Anne cheered and Charlie (who thought she was too old to cheer like a 5-year-old) nodded her head.</p><p>Charlie could see her dad grin and start the car.</p><p>+++</p><p>"This is bullshit." Charlie could hear Henry whisper, as he struggled with the collar of his suit.</p><p>As usual, on Christmas eve, the whole family was forced to attend church. It started as a tradition when Aunt Beatrice was little, to satisfy Grandma Cecilia's catholic roots, but it quickly felt more like a burden. To this day, Grandma Cecilia would force everyone on their best Sunday clothes and to endure what felt like eons of sermon.</p><p>This year, Aunt Marie had joined. Since she was going to spent Christmas with them, Aunt Marie, her husband Will, and their son Andy were forced to attend as well.</p><p>Uncle Will and Andy looked as bored as they could be, something highly expected of Wizards who were never raised religiously. Aunt Marie however, seemed curious.</p><p>Charlie was sure her Aunt had never set foot in a church before - after all her marriage was in accords to old French wizarding traditions- and found it all, in the very least, amusing. Charlie had to bite her lip to stop laughing when her Aunt tried to start applauding after the first chanting. Thankfully, Charlie's mother stopped her on time.</p><p>Charlie's mum, Catherine, was more used to this. After all she had been forced to come to this ridiculous tradition since she married Charlie's father, Charles.</p><p>With all this practice, her mother seemed an expert in hiding how bored she was, probably years of practice in the Wizgamont. Her father, however, didn't try to even hide it. He kept looking down to his shoes, and blinking very slowly, as if trying his best to stay awake. Grandma Cecilia of course, saw none of this. She had her eyes on Aunt Beatrice, who's eyes were unfocused as she looked ahead. She very clearly was not even trying to pretend to pay attention and was most likely doing a mental list of her groceries.</p><p>Charlie wasn't surprised by this. Her father had always been the golden child in both of his parent's eyes, doing no wrong. The closest he ever came to it, was marrying Charlie's mother.</p><p>Next to Charlie, Anne kept drawing patterns with her finger on her baby pink dress, and Henry kept fighting with his tight collar.</p><p>Henry's look was truly hilarious to Charlie. His curly hair was gelled back to perfection. The small amount of weird new stubble he had was shaved and he was dressed in a three-piece suit, his shoes shinning. Christmas eve was truly the only time Grandma Cecilia ever managed to make Henry look like the grandson she wanted. Mostly because, knowing her mother, Aunt Beatrice just told Henry to go with it.</p><p>Charlie looked at her own cream peach dress. It looked horrible on her and it felt incredibly itchy. The dress was Grandmas Cecilia's from when she was young, so not only did it smell like mold, it was also incredibly outdated.</p><p>The dress went to her mid calves with lacy on the end. It had this weird puff on the shoulders and a slight floral style that reminded Charlie of those old bed covers.</p><p>"Merlin, this is worse than Binns." Anne said.</p><p>"How long until this is over? I'm starving." Charlie whispered. She heard her grandmother hush them from the back row and rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Not long I hope." she heard her dad mutter from the back row.</p><p>"This is not worth the 10 quid." Henry grumbled.</p><p>"You get 10?!" Anne whisper yelled. "I only get 5!"</p><p>"You're 11. What would you even need 10 quid for?" Henry asked.</p><p>"Well," Anne started, clearly annoyed. "It just so happened I saw this boots-"</p><p>Grandma Cecilia hush them louder. The three rolled their eyes in annoyance.</p><p>"How much do you get?" Anne asked quietly to Charlie.</p><p>"7."</p><p>Anne sputtered in outrage which made Grandma Cecilia smack her in the head. Charles, who happened to see it, started to bicker with his mother on how she has no authorisation to do such a thing.</p><p>Charlie was never so please to leave the church. Once the sermon was over most of her family bolted out, with only Grandma Cecilia and Aunt Marie taking their time. Charlie was sure Grandma Cecilia was asking all the saints for forgiveness for upsetting her son.</p><p>"Finally." Henry said, as the three walked outside. Following close behind was Andy.</p><p>"How you doin' lad?" Henry asked him. Andy grinned.</p><p>"That was so boring." he replied, drawling out the 'o' in so.</p><p>"Andrew! Don't run." Charlie heard Aunt Marie scold. She reached them, greeting everyone, and pecking each cheek of the girls. Finally, she reached Henry.</p><p>"Henry! How are you sweetheart?" She said, pulling him close to peck his cheeks. Henry, still not used to Aunt Marie's perkiness, simply smiled.</p><p>"Good, good." He replied awkwardly, with most likely no idea what to say.</p><p>It didn't help that Aunt Marie looked exactly like Charlie's mother, but her personality was far different.</p><p>While Charlie's mother quickly assumed a more aristocratic personality with time, especially around grandma Cecilia, Aunt Marie was still a somewhat bubbly and talkative person. Charlie's mother always said that, since Aunt Marie never really left the wizarding world she grew up in, she didn't need to change much. Especially with a work that kept her intertwined heavily with the French wizarding community.</p><p>"Well that was horrible." Uncle Will said, as he came near. Uncle Will looked just like every other person in Charlie's opinion. He was tall and pale, with short sandy hair and some very light freckles. The more distinctive thing about him was his crooked nose from a past quidditch injury.</p><p>He shook the hands of everyone, taking the longest with Henry. The two quickly got into a conversation about the quidditch season (Charlie noticed that Uncle Will refrained from showing too much proud at Hufflepuff's crushing of the Gryffindor team for Henry's sake), which quickly ended when Aunt Marie noticed.</p><p>"Not here, there's muggles everywhere." She whispered to both, just as Grandma Cecilia, who had been nagging Aunt Beatrice, approached.</p><p>Her grey hair was pinned tightly to her head, and her modest dress had not even one wrinkle. It wasn't usual for Grandma Cecilia to dress modest, but church had a weird scare like effect on her. As if the priest should frown upon her if she showed up with too many jewels.</p><p>Her dark brown eyes narrowed as she examined her grandchildren, most likely to look for flaws to scold them about. Her eyes settled on Henry, who's jacked had wrinkled up and who managed to loosen his collar and tie.</p><p>"Henry, dear," She said, barely acknowledging everyone else. "Your tie is crooked." She replied, her tone icy. Henry sighed and straightened his tie a bit.</p><p>Grandma Cecilia smiled at Aunt Marie and Charlie noticed that it was the same smile she gave her mother, one of pity for not being born into English aristocracy.</p><p>"Mary dear, I see that your jacket is a bit wrinkled-"</p><p>"Oh. It's actually Marie-" Aunt Marie interrupted, accentuating the 'R' in her name.</p><p>"And Anne darling, look at that mud in your shoes." Grandma Cecilia said. "I'm assuming you won't be riding back with us?"</p><p>Anne shook her head. "No Ma'am."</p><p>Grandma Cecilia opened her mouth, most likely to comment on Uncle Will's moustache, when Charlie's mum arrived.</p><p>"There you all are." She said. "Girls, you'll be riding with your Aunt Beatrice." She turned to Grandma Cecilia. " Charles will be driving you and Mark, he's already waiting. " She stated in a sweet tone that didn't exactly match the annoyance in her green eyes.</p><p>Grandma Cecilia seemed in a better mood after hearing she'd only be riding with her son, and quickly left.</p><p>Catherine massaged her temple.</p><p>"I see your mother-in-law hasn't changed much." Aunt Marie said. Charlie's mum threw her a glare, but Aunt Marie simply smiled.</p><p>It was so odd, to see two faces almost identical, with so different expressions.</p><p>"Shut it. C'mon, I'll give you three a ride."</p><p>Aunt Marie grinned, almost skipping to her sister.</p><p>"You mean in an automobile?!" She replied, clearly enthusiastic. "You know I hear that the Ministry is going to buy some-"</p><p>"Marie please, not now." Catherine scolded. Uncle Will grabbed a now sleepy Andy and followed his wife and sister-in-law.</p><p>"Its kind off freaky how similar they look." Henry replied, while look around to spot his own mother.</p><p>"Yeah duh, they're twins." Anne replied.</p><p>"So? I've met twins before and none looked as similar."</p><p>"Well then, Thank Merlin they dress so differently." Charlie replied.</p><p>Aunt Beatrice was already by her old car when the trio found her.</p><p>"So," she started. "Are you kids ready? Hugh will meet us there!" Aunt Beatrice grinned as she mentioned her new boyfriend.</p><p>Charlie could already feel the displeasure radiating from Henry.</p><p>+++</p><p>Thankfully, they were the last to arrive. Aunt Beatrice had a habit of arriving late to anything that involved Grandma Cecilia, as a way to make her even more annoyed.</p><p>The inside of the house was too decorated to even appear real. Normally, Charlie loved Christmas, and loved the decorations, but since it was her wasting half a day putting this ones, they didn't seem as whimsical as they normally did.</p><p>Henry whistled. "Damn, Aunt Cat really going all the way, huh?"</p><p>"She wants to make sure Gran has nothing to complain about." Charlie whispered back.</p><p>"Well, good on her for dreaming on the impossible." Aunt Beatrice grumbled, walking ahead.</p><p>As they walked further into the house, the decorations seemed to get a bit out of hand. Traditionally, the Christmas dinner was held in Gran's Cecilia's house. However, this year, Charlie's mum had fought tooth and nails to make it at hers. Charlie had a sneaky suspicion this decision had something to do with <em>Mamie</em> Auriane's death. Ever since she died, Charlie's mum had connected more with her sister.</p><p>Grandma Cecilia wasn't very happy with the change, and had given a ridiculously enormous list to Catherine, on things that needed to appear. She also forced upon them all her Christmas decorations. Since Grandma Cecilia's house was twice as big, these decorations all spread out didn't feel as annoying, but when forced on a smaller place, it felt like someone puked little angels and ribbons.</p><p>"Charlotte!" Charlie cringed as she heard her mother. She already sounded stressed and annoyed but couldn't have arrived more than a few minutes before them.</p><p>"Oh Merlin." Charlie groaned as she followed her mother's voice. She found her mother and Grandmother in the kitchen. Charlie's mum seemed to be heating the food as Grandma Cecilia looked over her shoulder. Every so often she'd do a click with her tongue.</p><p>"Yes?" Charlie asked. Her mother's eyes immediately targeted her, and Charlie could see the annoyance in them.</p><p>"Good. Come and help me. I'm sure your Grandmother would love to be able to rest her feet for a moment before dinner." She said, jerking her head to her free side. Charlie, even if annoyed, complied and joined her mother's side.</p><p>"Oh, don't be silly dear. If I leave, who will make sure you do it properly this time?" Grandma Cecilia replied, in a too-sweet tone.</p><p>"I'm sure I'll manage without you, thank you. Wouldn't want you to fall asleep mid supper again, now do we?" Charlie's mum replied, in the same too-sweet tone. Grandma Cecilia pursed her lips, looking around.</p><p>"Better tend to the turkey then, seems a bit dry." She said, leaving the kitchen.</p><p>Her mother's gaze kept to the door, making sure Grandma Cecilia didn't show up to critic some more. After it was certain she would not come again, she sighed.</p><p>Charlie could feel the anger slowly leave her mum, and she felt a pang in her heart. She knew her mother would have to hear comments all night.</p><p>"Right then." Her mother eventually said. "Let's get to it." She finished, moving around to prepare all the food.</p><p>"Do I need to be here?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Yes, I need someone to make sure I don't unconsciously give in to my desires to give your grandmother diahrrea. Just don't let me make anything too spicy."</p><p>Charlie smirked and started to help her mother.</p><p>+++</p><p>"So," Henry drawled out, while looking around. "If your mum asks-"</p><p>"You never left our side." Anne said, rolling her eyes. Henry's eyes shined.</p><p>"That's right! And be here by four. Both of you." He added, looking straight at Charlie.</p><p>Charlie simply hummed, while looking around.</p><p>Diagon Alley seemed even busier than usual. Charlie assumed that after Christmas that the shops wouldn't be as filled, but it seemed like everyone was doing very late shopping.</p><p>Noticing the lack of attention, Henry just rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Make sure she's here by four, yeah Annie?"</p><p>"Don't call me that." Anne replied while scowling. Henry patted her head.</p><p>"Sure thing, Annie." He said, as he left to find his own friends.</p><p>Anne huffed and turned to Charlie, who still had a gaze locked with the busy streets of Diagon Alley.</p><p>Hoping to make a point, Anne stalked closer to her sister, positioning herself in such way that Charlie couldn't pass forward with Anne there. Anne cleared her throat, which made Charlie look at her, and stuck her hand out.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes, wanting nothing more than to smack the bratty grin out of her sister's face.</p><p>"What?" She asked, her tone dripping with annoyance. Anne simply smiled pleasantly.</p><p>"Mum gave you the money for both. And I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate if she ever found out you two left me all alone in such a dangerous place." She replied, using the same pleasant tone she always used when she tried to manipulate Charlie.</p><p>"The only danger you are in is getting your bottom smacked by me in front of your friends." Charlie hissed, walking around her sister. She kept looking everywhere, probably looking like a deranged idiot.</p><p>Behind her, Anne narrowed her eyes and ran after her sister.</p><p>"You have to give me my part! Or I'll tell mum and she won't let you have Pauline over." Anne shouted, trying to keep up with her sister's quick pace.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes, stopped, and turn to her sister.</p><p>"Ask nicely and I'll think about it." Charlie smirked as Anne's' face scrunched.</p><p>"What?" She replied in outrage, looking around. Charlie had stopped just outside the Owl Emporium, and all around them people passed them as if they didn't care. Still, Anne felt as if someone was watching the interaction.</p><p>"Ask. Nicely." Charlie repeated, drawling the words with a tone of finality.</p><p>Anne glared at Charlie, who didn't really seem to mind the powerful glare of death her sister was sending her way.</p><p>"Please, can you give me <em>my</em> money." she replied through gritted teeth.</p><p>Charlie feigning a face of confusion, hold her hand close to her ear. She heard an angry sigh, and her sister repeating the words again, now a bit louder.</p><p>Charlie smirked.</p><p>"Now, was that so hard?" She asked, mimicking Anne's overly sweet tone.</p><p>Anne glared as Charlie reached into her bag and held 6 galleons on her hand.</p><p>"Just that?"</p><p>"Why would you need more?"</p><p>Anne huffed, angrily yanking the coins and stuffing them in her small bag.</p><p>She stumped away from her sister and into the Owlery, almost running over a boy with dark hair. </p><p>"Wow." The boy said, making Charlie's eyes grow large. "You really do have a way with children." He smirked, walking over to her.</p><p>Charlie could hardly believe what she was seeing. This boy, with the voice and attitude as Sirius Black, looked nothing like him.</p><p>This boy had his curly back hair cut so short the curls couldn't develop and had easily the weirdest clothes Charlie had ever seen. It seemed as if he just came from Edwardian times.</p><p>Still, she knew it had to be Sirius and not his brother (who Charlie once saw in the halls and had to take a double peek thanks to how similar the two looked). Even without the lazily dressed robes or the hair that used to be long enough to slightly tuck in his ears, Charlie knew this was Sirius, simply for the annoying smirk he threw her.</p><p>"What the hell happened to you?" She blurted, being still too stun by the enormous change.</p><p>Sirius' smile fell for a second, but another one quickly took its place. However, this one looked weird on him. It reminded Charlie of the fake smiles Henry used for posing for pictures for Grandma Cecilia.</p><p>"You say that as if I don't look as good in this as in my robes." He replied, and Charlie rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Didn't waste any time in growing your ego, did you?"</p><p>"It's a diligent job to be this handsome without any external appreciation. It would help if every time you saw me you told me how I'm the most handsome boy you ever met." He replied, his voice using a tone of scolding.</p><p>Charlie repressed the urge of smacking him.</p><p>"Oh, I don't think I could do it as well as you."</p><p>"True." He replied, his eyes focusing ahead as if looking into the distance. "No one is better than me."</p><p>"At sucking up to you, you mean." Charlie added. Sirius raised his hand, dismissing what she said.</p><p>"Technicalities." He simply said. Charlie smiled and chuckled.</p><p>Sirius smiled, and Charlie noticed how this time it looked more real.</p><p>"Are you busy right now?" He asked.</p><p>"Well, I-"</p><p>"Perfect then!" He interrupted, grabbing her arm, and dragging her to the Owl Emporium.</p><p>"I actually am busy, Sirius." She said, pulling her arm from the boy's hold.</p><p>Sirius looked at her, with (what Charlie assumed) were his best puppy eyes.</p><p>"It will only take a minute. Please." He whined.</p><p>Charlie sighed and looked outside. The emporium had huge windows that showed the street perfectly well. If Pauline were to pass by, Charlie could easily spot her. That, and the fact Sirius still hadn't told her what happened to him, made her comply to the boy who grabbed her arm again and dragged her to the treats section.</p><p>Walking pass the cat's treats (where Anne seemed to be doing mental maths on how many she could take with the money Charlie gave her) and stopping at the Owl treats, Sirius quickly let go of her arm and crunched down to look at the treats in the lower shelves. For a second Charlie wondered how Sirius could easily balance himself with no arms support, while crunching. His left arm was resting on his left thigh as his right hand stroked his chin as he looked the treats over. Instead of mentioning this to Sirius, which would immediately lead to him thinking even more of himself, Charlie simply stated:</p><p>"I didn't know you had an owl."</p><p>Sirius smiled, still looking at the treats.</p><p>"Well I do. Do you?"</p><p>"Yes." With that, Sirius turned his gaze to her.</p><p>"And tell me, what treats do you normally give your owl?"</p><p>Charlie's brow furrowed as she thought. Looking around she reached for some treats on the higher shelves.</p><p>"I normally give her these ones, but it's because they were recommended. It's good for her feathers."</p><p>Sirius stood up and looked at the bag.</p><p>"So, these ones are good for feathers?"</p><p>"Well I mean, unless your owl doesn't have a problem with them, then maybe don't get it."</p><p>Sirius brow furrowed as he looked the product over.</p><p>"Well, what's the problem yours have?"</p><p>"Last year during the winter, Yaris' feathers got all weird and rougher. The lady who looked her over said it had something to do with the salt of the canal she had to fly over. She's all better now, but since it's winter again I don't want to risk it."</p><p>"Right." Sirius said, once again stroking his chin. This time, his eyes left the product and looked around, looking bigger than usual.</p><p>"So maybe not those." He said, his voice sounded far away.</p><p>"Sirius," Charlie said, making the boys gaze snap to her. "What treats do you normally give?"</p><p>Sirius grinned, his eyes shining.</p><p>"Well I got him over Christmas, you see. So, I don't exactly know what's the best."</p><p>Charlie smiled, an easy reflex to Sirius' happiness. He looked weirdly happy to receive something that required more responsibility than an object.</p><p>"Okay then." Charlie said. "Is he still a baby or-"</p><p>"Full grown." Sirius said, a weird pride in his eyes. "And as handsome as his father."</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes, looking back to the treats.</p><p>"Do you know if he doesn't like a flavour or?"</p><p>"Well, he isn't fond of the ones with fishy flavours."</p><p>"Fish flavours?" She inquired, looking at the treats. There were none with fish flavours. However next to the owl treats, there were. "You mean the cats treats with fish flavours?" She asked, quirking an accusing eyebrow at him</p><p>Sirius grimaced</p><p>"Perhaps that's why he didn't like them."</p><p>"Perhaps." Charlie replied, giving little thought to the conversation. Clearly, Sirius had no idea what his owl liked or needed, so going with the most basics would be the smartest choice.</p><p>Charlie grabbed what had to be the most basic choice and trusted it in Sirius' hands.</p><p>"Here. It's nothing fancy or expensive, so if he doesn't like it won't cost you that much."</p><p>Sirius grinned, looking at the treats.</p><p>"You think he'll like them?"</p><p>"Well I mean, you should probably try some treats around, see which ones he prefers. But for starters these are the best." She shrugged.</p><p>"Does your owl like them?"</p><p>"Yes, Yaris isn't a picky eater, thank Merlin."</p><p>"That's a nice name." Sirius said, but Charlie could see he wasn't paying much attention, his eyes were glued to the back of the treats, reading the ingredients.</p><p>"Thank you, what did you name yours?"</p><p>"Aarne." He said. Charlie could feel her brow furrow at the peculiar name but then again he was named Sirius, it's not like weird names weren't a normality in the Wizarding World.</p><p>Sirius quickly shook himself of his daze and the two made their way to the registration. As they left, Sirius seemed like a hyper child, looking around for some trouble.</p><p>"Can't wait to go home and see if he likes them! You know I've been asking for an owl for ages-" Sirius cut himself, looking ahead. His entire demeanour seemed to change. The easy-going smile, which just added to his carefree expression, disappeared as his entire face lost all emotion. His back straighten and he hastily shoved the treats into his pants pocket.</p><p>Charlie looked ahead, following Sirius gaze, and saw what she assumed was Sirius' family. She saw his brother being dotted by a woman with long curly black hair, pinned to her head with only a few strands out to frame her face. Next to her stood a man with a huge moustache. They were all dressed like they had just stepped out of Edwardian London.</p><p>"Your family?" She asked, as Sirius just starred ahead. Charlie couldn't shake the feeling of how weird he looked. It wasn't even the clothes or the new haircut but the emotionless mask he wore his eyes devoid of any mischief.</p><p>"Yes." He replied, his voice cold and distant. He quickly turned to her, and Charlie felt like his eyes pierced her soul. It was such a weird thing coming from Sirius.</p><p>"I've got to go. See you at Hogwarts." And just like that, Sirius left to go to his family, his paced weirdly formal.</p><p>+++</p><p>It was half an hour after that, that Charlie finally found Pauline. Weirdly enough, she found her in a joke's shop, easily the last placed she thought Pauline would go willingly.</p><p>Pauline looked like an everyday muggle: with a jumper, some jeans and some trainers, the only thing that made her stand out was her red hair, that was lazily arranged in a braid.</p><p>Next to her, a small boy with dark hair and freckles was talking rapidly in French, trying to touch everything in his sight. Charlie cringed in pity for her friend. If there was one thing, she hated was to have to babysit hyper cousins.</p><p>Charlie got ready to sneak behind Pauline, but at that moment she turned her gaze to her. Charlie felt a little disappointed she didn't get to scare Pauline, but the feeling quickly left her as her friends grinned at her.</p><p>"You're here!" She squealed, letting go of her cousin to hug Charlie. Charlie grinned and hugged her back, keeping an eye on Pauline's cousin.</p><p>"Yeah! Sorry I took so long I actually ran into-"</p><p>"Merlin, have you ever been to Cornwall?" Pauline squealed, letting go of Charlie. Her eyes were bright and excited</p><p>"I haven't yet, how is it?"</p><p>+++</p><p>the day seemed to pass by for Charlie. After finally founding Pauline, who told her all about what places she had seen, the two made their way out of the joke shop ( having to drag the son of one of Pauline's cousins) and into the streets.</p><p>They manage to see most of the stores and even get a glimpse of Henry and his friend, Robin.</p><p>Just before 4pm, they managed to find Pauline's family, who all greeted Charlie warmly (especially Jean-Baptiste) giving her hugs and kisses on both cheeks. Pauline's mother even went as far as to offer Charlie to buy her some sweets.</p><p>It was very clear to anyone how much Pauline's parents dotted, not only on their daughter, but her friends. Charlie didn't know much of it, since Pauline never really liked to talk about it, but she knew Pauline had a certain difficulty in making friends ( after all Charlie herself saw this when they all met) so when she told her parents she made 2 friends, her parents really went all out with making sure they felt accepted. Charlie remembered the enormous cake Pauline's mum made for her for her 12th birthday.</p><p>So, it wasn't really that hard to convince them now to have Pauline sleep over for the night. After all, they were all in London for the remaining of the week, and Charlie's mum even invited them all to eat there lunch ( how they would all fit, Charlie had no idea).</p><p>After Pauline said her goodbyes, the two made their way to where Henry was already waiting. As soon as he saw them, he scowled.</p><p>"What took you so long?" He asked.</p><p>"Well sorry if some of us actually have a social life."</p><p>"What social life, you have like, 3 friends."</p><p>"Shut up." Charlie grumbled. Pauline snorted at the statement, but quickly pretended she hadn't when Charlie playfully glared at her.</p><p>"Got any good gifts, Pauline?" Henry asked, looking incredibly bored as they all waited for Anne.</p><p>Pauline shrugged, the strap on her backpack moving slightly with the movement.</p><p>"Some. My aunt got me some vinyl's of this new band."</p><p>Henry eyebrows raised.</p><p>"Did she know?"</p><p>"Yeah, a rock band. I was actually surprised, she normally send me something more of the likes of Presley or Etta James. "</p><p>"Didn't know any of your aunts knew about muggle music." Henry replied, still looking around for Anne.</p><p>"Yeah, my aunt for my Dad's side. She lives in the muggle world."</p><p>"Groovy." It was clear Henry had stopped paying attention as his eyes narrowed. Charlie followed his gaze and saw her sister running to them. She must have notice she was extremely late or else she would have never ran with her arms full of cat treats. Her hair, normally perfectly in place, was a bit wild from the jog.</p><p>When she reached them, Henry crossed his arms. Charlie figured he tried to look intimidating but truly he just looked like a mother ready to scold her child.</p><p>"Do you know what time it is, Annie Bananie?"</p><p>Anne scowled as she breathed heavily.</p><p>"Don't call me that." she simply said.</p><p>"Oh! I'll call you whatever I want, since you're planning on being 20 minutes late." He huffed, making his way to the fireplaces.</p><p>Anne rolled her eyes as she struggled with all the treats in her arms. Charlie had a bad feeling that her sister spent all her money on treats for Alfred.</p><p>Pauline, being as smitten as she is, immediately went to help Anne, and started to talk to her in a very sweet tone, that reminded Charlie of a mother cooing her child.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes and couldn't wait to be home.</p><p>+++</p><p>The first thing the girls did when they got home (after Pauline went to greet Charlie's parents, who were laying on the couch when they arrived) was discuss what they got for Christmas. Charlie thanked Pauline for the vinyl she bought her and Pauline thanked Charlie for the book on what were the best hidden places to see in England and Scotland.</p><p>Charlie showed Pauline what she got: some new trainers for Aunt Marie, a weirdly formal dress (and 7pounds) from her grandparents, a nice sweater and a small stash of muggle candy from Aunt Beatrice and a book on how to easily solve riddles from Luana. Charlie knows she probably should have been offended but honestly, she needed it.</p><p>Charlie shared her muggle candy with Pauline as she told her what she got. From what Charlie could tell, almost everyone in her mother's side got her clothes. Which to Charlie made sense since, even if she a bit too shy to wear it, Pauline loved dresses and had a great sense of fashion.</p><p>Her squib aunt has given her a few vinyl's and her parents a crazy amount of new books. Pauline mentioned that it was to make up for not getting her the kitten she wanted, apparently the only thing she did ask her parents to get. But in the end, she agreed the poor animal would probably be traumatised by the trip between countries after every school year.</p><p>Lastly, Luana had sent her a bunch of weird Portuguese sweets that tasted amazing.</p><p>"I wish she was here with us." Pauline replied, looking at one of the tarts she brought for Charlie. Luana would never shut up about them and Charlie had to admit, even if they looked a bit weird (most likely because of the trip) they were great.</p><p>"Me too." Charlie mused. "I bet she could make Henry try any clothes I give him to put on."</p><p>Pauline smiled.</p><p>"Remember when she asked Louis Dubois to let her braid his hair?"</p><p>Charlie snorted.</p><p>"Merlin, she had to be only person who couldn't see the major crush he had on her."</p><p>"Even worse when Bordeaux started to have a thing for him!"</p><p>Charlie laughed.</p><p>"I'll never forget Lu's face when Bordeaux tried to trip her on the halls. She looked so lost!" Charlie tried to imitate the look and Pauline snorted so hard that the water she was drinking came out in her nose.</p><p>Charlie bursted out laughing as Pauline tried to clean her nose.</p><p>"Damnit, that burns." She whined. Charlie patted her back as she tried to contain her giggles.</p><p>Pauline smiled, looking at the wall.</p><p>"Next time you have to do Bordeaux's face after we hexed her shoes. Them maybe the water will come out from my ears."</p><p>Charlie chuckled as she remembered the payback they did to Bordeaux. Pauline had hexed her shoes so every time she walked the shoes emitted a squeaky sound, as if one just stepped on a squeaky toy.</p><p>Outside the room, Charlie heard the heavy steps of her dad and the more delicate ones of her mother as the two murmured and laughed quietly. She held a hand to Pauline, and the two got up quietly. After she heard her parent's door close, she grinned at Pauline.</p><p>"Normally at this time they pass horror movies in the tv. Want to watch one?"</p><p>Pauline grinned and nodded.</p><p>+++</p><p>By the time Charlie woke up, it was midday. Looking around, she realised why she had woken up. During the night, Pauline had managed to claim the middle of the bed, pushing Charlie to the very corner. Now, Charlie remembered why she normally preferred to share a bed with Luana.</p><p>Downstairs, the doorbell went off, and after the door was opened, Charlie could hear an enormous commotion. It appeared that Pauline's relatives had arrived.</p><p>Charlie moved to face Pauline's foot, the closest thing to her, and tickled it. Pauline, being not that much of a heavy sleeper, immediately got up, startled. She looked around, alarmed, and settled her gaze on Charlie.</p><p>She scowled once she realised it was her who tickled her and threw the closest pillow at Charlie.</p><p>"Oi! I should be the me throwing pillows! Look where you pushed me to?"</p><p>"You're lucky I didn't made you fall." She mumbled, lowering her head to the pillows once again.</p><p>Charlie jumped out of bed, dragging Pauline by her foot. Pauline shrieked as she tried to claw the sheets.</p><p>"None of that now! Your family is here! We must save my father!" Charlie said, letting go to Pauline just before she fell head first in the ground. Her legs fell to the ground and Charlie winced a bit as she felt the force of Pauline's knees hit the floor.</p><p>Pauline simply huffed. "Great." She mumbled getting up. "I don't want to leave." She whined.</p><p>Charlie went and hugged her, which was kind off hard since Pauline was shorter than her.</p><p>"Awn, don't worry! School starts in less than a week! We will all be together!"</p><p>Pauline groaned but nodded. "No wonder you're happy, you only have your sweet sister to look after. I swear, my cousin Aimée had the devil as a kid. And now they ask me to look after him!"</p><p>Charlie let go of Pauline and tried to get her hair somewhat presentable.</p><p>"Was that the little boy I saw?"</p><p>Pauline grunted. "Antoine." she simply said. The two quickly got dressed and left to greet everyone.</p><p>The afternoon went as Charlie expected: most of Pauline's relatives being fascinated with Charlie's dad and even better, with all the muggle objects around the House. Charlie particularly loved when some of Pauline's cousins jumped and shrieked when they turned on the tv.</p><p>Pauline's parents ended up making casual conversation with Charlie's mum in French, while her dad tried his best to keep up with the little French he learned in school. Charlie found it a bit endearing how, no matter how many curve balls charlie's mum threw his way, Charles Ellis tried his best to keep up without bringing down the morale. And judging by the look on Catherine Ellis' face, she felt the same.</p><p>Thankfully, because of the muggle devices and Charlie's dad low blood sugar pressure, Pauline's relatives agreed to keep magic to a minimum. Still, they was a time Charlie thought her dad might faint.</p><p>It was 4pm when they decided to call it a day, since they had a big trip to the south of England planned for tomorrow.</p><p>Pauline and Charlie hugged, and said goodbye. Even before the family was out the door, Charlie felt a little pang of loneliness. Her dad would start work immediately after New Years' and her mother had an emergency meeting tomorrow. Soon, everything would go back to the usual busy schedules of her parents, and Charlie's loneliness in her own home.</p><p>+++</p><p>"And by god, we weren't even caught! Ahh but those were other times-"</p><p>Charlie vaguely heard Mr. Armfield's story about how him and Grandpa Mark did something in their youths.</p><p>Every New year's, the tale was the same. The Armfields were of course invited, and before the 'rascals' were allowed to leave the table, they all had to suffer through one of Mr. Armfield's "knee slapper" tales. Charlie looked up and wished the chandelier would fall on her as Mr. Armfield continued telling the same tale he told every year.</p><p>Charlie looked around and could see she wasn't the only one who was bored out her mind. Aunt Beatrice stared at the distance, as if lost in her thoughts. Charlie's dad had started to observe the cutlery and even Charlie's mum, who thrived in aristocracy, seemed to find hard to keep her poise. The only two who didn't even try to pretend to pay attention were Henry and Amelia, who appears to be in a middle of a thumb war.</p><p>Charlie fixed her gaze there, entranced by the moving fingers and tongues slipping out as they two concentrated on besting the other.</p><p>Suddenly a roaring laugh could be heard and Charlie's gaze was broken, her attention going to her grandpa who, quite literally, slapped his knee in joy.</p><p>"Ahh yes! Ainstworth, the jolly ol' fella! Do you remember when we-"</p><p>Charlie suppressed the urge to cry in despair as the two continued reminiscing, ignoring the children that very clearly wanted to leave. Charlie sighed and turn her gaze towards the chandelier again.</p><p>Oh, if only.</p><p>+++</p><p>Charlie had never been so happy to be back at King's Cross. This time, both her parents managed to come.</p><p>As usual, Aunt Beatrice was pampering Henry with kisses, and while he weakly complained, but Charlie knew Henry pretty much enjoyed it. He was such a momma's boy.</p><p>Charlie's mum hugged Charlie as her father hugged Anne. Charlie hugged her mother back and could feel her mother subconsciously starting to pet Charlie's hair, a small habit she did when Charlie was little and upset. She kissed her on her head and let go. For a moment, Charlie looked at her mother's face, so similar to hers in most ways. They had the same button nose, the same rosy cheeks, the same chin, the same semi full lips and the same eyes. But Charlie couldn't help noticing the differences. Her mother's eyebrows were naturally thin and arched, while Charlie had her dad's thick ones. Her mother's teeth were straight as Charlies were slightly crooked.</p><p>Her mother smiled a watery smile, her green eyes watering quickly.</p><p>"I'm sorry I wasn't here before." She whispered, blinking away her tears as she caressed Charlie's hair and cheek.</p><p>"It's okay. You're here now." She whispered back. She didn't exactly know why she whispered, maybe as to not break the trance the two were under, as if they were in their own world. Or maybe because she knew that, if she spoke in her normal tone, her voice would be thick with emotion and crack.</p><p>Her mother smiled once more, pushing one of Charlie's stray locks- just like her mother's- behind her ear.</p><p>And suddenly the trance was broken as her mother straighten herself as Anne threw herself in her arms. Her mother smiled, but Charlie liked to think it wasn't the same thing. She moved to her dad, who was grinning down at her. She hugged him and felt the same warm feeling she felt when he used to carry her to bed after she fell asleep during one of their movie marathons. Her dad pulled away first, to look her in the eyes.</p><p>"Now, don't forget to behave and be nice to your sister."</p><p>"I'm always nice." Charlie grumbled. Her dad ruffled her hair affectionately</p><p>"You sure are sweetheart. Have a nice term, and don't forget to write!"</p><p>Lastly, she was hugged by Aunt Beatrice as Henry said goodbye to his uncle and aunt.</p><p>"Make sure he doesn't work himself to death. He kept waking up at 6am to do crunches." Aunt Beatrice whispered in Charlie's ear. Charlie laughed and nodded.</p><p>Finally, the three boarded the train and each went their way: Anne went to find Esther, Henry to find his friends and Charlie went compartment to compartment trying to find Pauline.</p><p>It was a bit odd, not having Luana join them, but it wouldn't make sense for her to have to catch a plane just to get in the train. It must be much easier to simply floo to school.</p><p>In her search, Charlie saw Lily Evans sitting with Snape, and she waved to both. Only one responded with actual enthusiasm but Charlie didn't mind. She also found the compartment of James, Sirius, Remus and Peter but decided to pretend she didn't see them. She still wanted to ask Sirius about his weird action in Diagon Alley (was she really that embarrassing to have as a friend that he couldn't even acknowledge her when with his family?) But now wasn't the time. He was surrounded by his friends and would most likely ignore the event all together.</p><p>Finally, in the same compartment as last time, she found Pauline.</p><p>This time, Pauline wasn't in a dress, but in a jumper and jeans. Her red hair was is in his natural state: straight and a mess. Charlie could see she was wearing a new pair of earrings. Narrowing her eyes, Charlie noticed something as she walked in and was met with Pauline's face: her freckled nose was pink. She had a cold.</p><p>"So," Charlie replied, jumping into the seat in front of Pauline. "Did someone happened to forget to wear a jacket during a hike?" Charlie said, in a matter-of-fact tone. Pauline glared at her and sniffled.</p><p>"Shut up." she grumbled. Charlie laughed and felt the train moving.</p><p>"So, how was the south of England?" She asked. Pauline's eyes shined as she grinned.</p><p>+++</p><p>Something was wrong.</p><p>Charlie first notice it when they arrived at the castle- Luana was nowhere to be seen. At first they concluded that she must already be in the hall, with the other students that stayed behind or floo as well.</p><p>But as they arrived to eat, she wasn't there.</p><p>Then, Pauline thought she might just be late; After all, Luana did have a habit of doing everything last minute so she must have decided to stay with her family a bit longer and floo in just in time for dinner.</p><p>And yet, dinner flew past, and no sign of Luana.</p><p>Finally, they decided to check the dorm; maybe she came early and accidentally fell asleep on the bed. After all, Luana wouldn't miss a meal on purpose.</p><p>But when they arrive, the small feelings of dread Charlie had been pushing down came flaring up.</p><p>Luana wasn't in the dorm.</p><p>Then, the panic started. Has she got lost in the floo? She hadn't use it much before and all it takes is one mistake.</p><p>Or maybe shed stay home to eat? Pauline immediately nodded, but Charlie wasn't so sure. When it came to life back home, Luana was a bit mysterious. She always claimed that wasn't much to tell, that she lived in the outskirts of the town, that her parents had a small farm. She had of course shown pictures of her family but that was just about it. It was rare for Luana to go into detail about her life before Beauxbâtons.</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity, Charlie heard a noise. Her head quickly snapped towards the sound, and found one of the school owls annoyingly tapping the window.</p><p>Both girls flew to open the window and the owl dropped a letter. Charlie looked at it. It was addressed to both of them, but Charlie could barely notice as relieved filled her as she saw the familiar handwriting.</p><p>Pauline sighed and took the letter, making a show of opening it slow.</p><p>"That girl honestly...gives us quite the scare and then sends a letter...I'm sure she's on the grounds now, trying to see our reaction, that little-"</p><p>Pauline stopped talking as she read the letter. Her eyes turned comically huge and she bit her lip.</p><p>"Oh." she simply said. "Oh fuck." </p><p>Charlie ripped the letter from her hands to read it. It wasn't much, just three lines. And yet Charlie felt the pit of her stomach grow.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'I won't be at school this week,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My dad died; funeral is in 3 days.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tell the teachers.'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Both Charlie and Pauline looked at each other, faces pale and widened eyes. Both thinking the same thing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh, Lu.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Next update will be on the 28th of October.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 10- 𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a week later, that Luana finally showed up.</p><p>Even before talking, Charlie knew this wasn't the same Luana that had left in December, which of course made sense. Charlie still remembered how she felt after she lost her Grandma Auriane, and so she made a mental note not to use any too soft tones around Luana.</p><p>But on the other hand, what was she supposed to do? She hated feeling so incredibly helpless, to see someone she loved and cared for suffer and not being able to do anything about it.</p><p>Luana had arrived just after classes, and when the girls had arrived at the dorm, she was silently unpacking. Charlie noticed that the pictures of her family she had tapped to the wall were gone.</p><p>She didn't seem to notice the arrival of the girls, most likely lost in her own head. Even from behind, Charlie noticed she seemed skinnier than what she already was, something Charlie thought it was impossible. She never knew someone as scrawny as Luana.</p><p>She shared a look with Pauline and saw the same look of helplessness in her. Charlie cleared her throat.</p><p>"Hey Lu. How are you feeling?" She asked, testing the fields. Grief expressed differently in everyone and she had no idea how to precede. Once again, she cursed herself for not being even close to good at comforting people.</p><p>"Hey. I'm great! Did I miss a lot in classes?" She asked, not stopping her actions or turning around. Her tone seemed too overly excited.</p><p>"Uhh, not much. Though there was one time Flitwick almost slipped from his mount of books."</p><p>Luana laughed, but it felt fake and restrained, close to a laugh you make in a polite conversation. Charlie looked at Pauline for guidance.</p><p>Pauline took a step closer, laying her hand in Luana's shoulder. Charlie saw Luana freeze.</p><p>"How are you truly? I'm sorry we couldn't go to the funeral. You know, if you need anythin-" she started but was swiftly interrupted. Luana coldly brushed Pauline's hand, and Charlie saw hurt flash quickly in Pauline's eyes. Luana turned to Pauline, her gaze cold as stone, her eyes glaring as if to kill Pauline with a look.</p><p>"I'm fine. Everything's fine. I don't need anything from anyone." She said, her voice void of any emotion. Her face portrait such anger that even Pauline shrink a bit back.</p><p>And then, it was gone. Luana's face turned into the fake light hearted expression and she smiled. Her eyes however, remained cold and empty.</p><p>"I'm going to go catch some air, yeah? You guys have no idea how much I missed the cold air. Don't wait up!" She replied, in a fake cheery voice as she left the dorm.</p><p>Pauline and Charlie shared confused looks, having no idea what had happened.</p><p>+++</p><p>"What do you mean this isn't Auriga?" Charlie asked. She felt Rory sigh next to her. She felt a bit bad, after all they had been at this for almost an hour and she could not tell which constellation was which if her life depended on it.</p><p>"No, that's Gemini. But it's an easy mistake, because they're close to one another. You see, Auriga does a square, while Gemini is like a rectangular that didn't close." Rory replied, pointing to each. Charlie could see he was right, but she also knew she'd never manage to not make that mistake again.</p><p>"Right." She replied, staring hard into the chart. Rory grinned at her, nudging at her arm. Charlie could see that his smile reach his eyes, that they were sparkling.</p><p>"Don't worry, took me forever to get it too. And you're way better now than before! You can even tell the difference between the Eridanus and Lepus! I couldn't for the longest time!" He grinned again.</p><p>Charlie smiled, feeling her cheeks warm to the compliment. Part of her wanted to tell him it was purely accidental and that she said the only names she remembered, but then again he seemed so proud of her and his compliment had made Charlie feel this really nice warm feeling in her chest...</p><p>From the side opposite to her, Pauline sighed annoyingly and looked at her watch again. Both turned to look at her.</p><p>" She's normally never this late." She simply said. Charlie felt her chest tightening at the mention of Luana.</p><p>It had been a week since she came back, and it by now both Pauline and Charlie had stopped trying to talk to her about her father's death. Every time they did, she'd go in a fit of rage, claiming she was fine and them disappearing for hours. Once they didn't saw her for almost 2 entire days. Eventually she came to the room, acting like nothing had happen.</p><p>"Yes, I meant to ask, why is Luana acting so strange?" Rory asked, looking between both girls as they shared a look. So far, the only other person that knew what happen, aside from professors, was Henry. And when he went to Luana to wish his condolences, she kicked him in the shin and ignore the girls for a few days, angry that they told anyone. Clearly, she isn't handling it very well.</p><p>"Well-" Charlie started but quickly stopped. She saw Luana making a light jog to their table, looking extremely out of breath. Charlie grabbed Rory's arm, and signalled him not to say anything. Thankfully, he seemed to understand what Charlie's crazy look meant.</p><p>Finally, Luana reach the table and threw herself on the vacant seat.</p><p>"Sorry I'm late." She said, still gasping for air. "McGonagall had me doing detention, had to run here."</p><p>"Don't worry about it." Pauline said, easily ignoring the fact that she spent an hour waiting. She quickly opened her book, before Luana lost interest and left.</p><p>"Here, I'm having some trouble with this..." she said and after a quick look at the subject, Luana started her rant. Both Rory and Charlie stopped their own little tutoring to listen. Luana had a way of making history sound more interesting than it really was, and it helped that she was better at explaining than Binns.</p><p>Charlie, above all, use this opportunity to take in the changes in Luana. Most changes were of course in her behaviour, but the chaos inside was starting to manifest outside.</p><p>There were deep purple bags under her eyes, consequence of her arriving to the dorm late in the night and awaking early in the morning. Her eyes looked just as void of emotion as they did a week ago when they first saw her. Her clothes were more ruffled than ever, mostly due to her never stopping for long and running everywhere. Her hair was wild with all the movement as well.</p><p>But worst of all, was how scrawny she was. Luana had always been scrawny, more so than the girls, but seeing how salient her cheekbones were and how hollow her cheeks and collarbone looked scared Charlie. Everything about Luana just expressed how lost she must have felt, how out of touch with her inner self she must have been to simply think she could ignore her own emotions.</p><p>It was a cruel irony that Luana, who always knew exactly what to say and what to do to make someone feel better, looked extremely lost. And Charlie, who Luana helped so many times, had no idea what to say to make her feel better. How could she even? Death isn't some bad grade for a test you studied hard for, its more complex than that, and it isn't something you can just make it go away with a joke.</p><p>Charlie managed to snap out of her thoughts just has Luana finished explaining. Pauline immediately questioned her about some other things, but Charlie could see Luana leg bounce and her finger lightly tapping the table. She was getting impatient again.</p><p>It was no surprised that, after she quickly rushed an answer to Pauline's questions, she gave some excuse to leave. She quickly grabbed her things and bolted out of the library, earning a scolding for Ms. Pince.</p><p>Both girls looked at each other.</p><p>"So-" Rory started, his tone of voice indicating he was going to ask what this was all about.</p><p>"How about we stop here? My back is starting to hurt." Charlie lied, rubbing the back of her back for affect.</p><p>"Uh, sure?" Rory said, clearly uncertain of everything at this point. Charlie grinned at him as she packed. Pauline followed her actions.</p><p>Before she got up, Charlie side hugged Rory.</p><p>"Thank you! You're the best! See you in class." she said and quickly grabbed Pauline. If they left now, they might manage to find Luana before she disappeared.</p><p>"Oh- uh t-thanks!" She heard Rory stammer but didn't look back. She knew that, if Luana disappeared, they wouldn't see her until tomorrow morning.</p><p>+++</p><p>When older students talked about their classes right after the Christmas holidays, they normally mentioned how the professors got really hardcore about teaching and gave more work than before.</p><p>And yet, here was Charlie, so bored and with so little to do that she agreed to watch one of Henry's practices. She had managed to gracefully decline all offers, always claiming she had this or another work. However, it seemed most professors were still riding on their vacation highs and only really McGonagall has woken up.</p><p>She didn't give an answer about if she would or not show up- Henry seemed to keen on her coming and that always told her he was planning something. But truth the told, she had nothing better to do.</p><p>All her work was done, Pauline was studying with Althea, who thanks to being so observant, manage to catch all misspelled words Pauline sometimes wrote. Rory was chatting with Maeve and as much as Charlie liked both, sometimes she felt like an extra between them.</p><p>After all, Rory and Maeve knew each other since they were little and had all type of internal jokes that went over Charlie's head. And of course, Luana was still barely ever stopping at the dorm.</p><p>Everyone now and then, Charlie caught sight of her outside classes: once with some older students, other times just wandering alone, as if on a mission to find something to entertain herself with.</p><p>And so, since she already knew everything that was to know about the walls of her dorm, she decided to watch Henry's practice.</p><p>She decided to stay as high in the stands as possible since she didn't really feel like straining her neck too much. She sat in the one to last and leaned her back on the last stand.</p><p>There weren't many watching the practice. Charlie could see Peter Pettigrew anxiously watching and clapping excitedly every time something happened. There was also some Gryffindor girls, that Charlie knew had to be 4th year or higher since she didn't recognised them. And a few seats down, sat a Gryffindor girl Charlie did recognise: Bertha Jorkins. She guessed this is why Henry was so insistent on her coming.</p><p>As the train started, Charlie's eyebrows rose to her hair. She was expecting something similar to the try outs. Henry arrogantly saying some orders and glancing behind to wink at girls.</p><p>But clearly the defeat to Hufflepuff hit Henry harder than she realised. This had to be the most cruel and hardworking practice Charlie ever saw.</p><p>It felt somewhat like a real match, where they all looked determined to win. Henry was shouting around but seemed so lost in the practice he didn't once looked away from the field.</p><p>Other than the usual drills of flying around the pitch, he made them all, himself included, do some push-ups which Charlie was sure the girls enjoyed. He made them practice throwing and catching the quaffle on the ground, while the beaters threw all sorts of things at them. He even had this weird obstacle course ready ( where the beaters once again threw things at them) to see how fast and stealthy they could move. The oddest one by far was when Henry got the beaters some beach rackets and a tiny ball, and made the beaters keep it always on the air and between them. Every time they dropped they had to start over.</p><p>It was only one hour into the training that the team finally took to the skies again and the difference between the game and the practice was crystal clear. The team seemed more organised and coordinated. They effortless threw the balls around, and the keeper only failed one or two times.</p><p>The training was so bizarre and interesting that Charlie found herself disappointed when it ended. However, she seemed the only one. The players looked incredibly grateful that it ended.</p><p>Everyone eventually left and only Charlie and Peter stayed. When James emerged, a while after, Peter went to him. James however made a b-line to Charlie</p><p>"Ellis." He said, his voice thick with annoyance. " I need you to remind your cousin that we are human beings."</p><p>Charlie grinned and quirked an eyebrow.</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"Look, I was all forward with the more intense training, and the trainings being more and earlier. But please, dive into his human side and remind him there's no point in making the team wake up every single day at 5am to run around the pitch."</p><p>The absolute look of desperation in James, the only other person Charlie knew was as crazy about quidditch as Henry, made Charlie laugh.</p><p>"I'll see what I can do." She reassured him. James face filled with relieved. He tried to hug her but since he was still in his sweaty and muddy quidditch gear, Charlie quickly stepped back. James didn't seem to bother, most likely because he realised why Charlie declined.</p><p>They quickly left, James claiming he need an hour long shower just so he could feel his arms again, and Charlie didn't have to wait long for Henry.</p><p>The rest of the team came out, Henry engaged on a talk with Shafiq. They stopped and Charlie felt the same awkward standing she did whenever she was with her mum and they ran into one of her friends.</p><p>After a while, Shafiq said goodbye to Henry and winked at Charlie has he passed by.</p><p>Charlie didn't have much time to think of it since she saw how close Henry was getting. Sensing a hug was to come, she dodge his arm.</p><p>"You came!- eh?" He said, as she dodged him.</p><p>"No hugs. You're sweaty."</p><p>"Fine, let's go. What did you think of the training?" He asked as they started their walk to the castle.</p><p>"It was nuts. Was that all really necessary?"</p><p>"Of course, it was! We still have a small change of winning the cup and if we lose that change just because I wasn't a good enough captain then I'd rather just not exist." He said, a bit too dramatically to Charlie's liking.</p><p>"Okay, but why are you even going to make them run laps? The sport is all in the air!"</p><p>"Well I need to keep them in shape! Do you know how much they eat? I've made a plan to make sure they're all at their physical peak in time for the next game and I need them to lose the Christmas pounds fast before the game. Plus, it's good for learning to control your breathing."</p><p>"Feels a bit over the top. Can you just please not make them do it?" She begged.</p><p>Henry narrowed his eyes.</p><p>"Who put you up to this? Was it Potter? Oh, I'll make sure he starts doing laps even earlier."</p><p>"No, no, it wasn't James." Charlie quickly tried. "I heard the team mention it as they passed me, and I felt like it was too much. Just, I don't know, make a voting, to see if they agree or something. After all, a team's trust starts in decision making." Charlie said lamely, hoping her cousin would eat it up. And guessing by the way he was scratching his chin, she guessed he did.</p><p>"I guess I can somewhat see your point." He sighed. "Fine, I'll think about it."</p><p>"Good." Charlie smiled. "I'm glad to see the team is doing way better, you guys looked amazing out there!"</p><p>Henry smiled, tightening his grip on his broom.</p><p>"Thanks. And thank you for coming, I've been wanting someone to come and tell me if they can tell the difference. I'd prefer if it was your friend Cauthorn since he knows more of quidditch than you three. But still, if you can tell there's a difference without knowing anything about quidditch, then it must be a big one." He smirked. Charlie smacked his arm.</p><p>"Wow. Thank you. I'll make sure to never stop by again then."</p><p>Henry laughed but his face soon inquisitive.</p><p>"Why did you come? I thought you were busy?"</p><p>Charlie felt her smile disappear.</p><p>"Well," she started, fidgeting a bit under Henry's gaze. " everyone was busy and I had no homework."</p><p>"Damn, you're yelling me Pauline had plans, but you didn't?" He asked. Charlie rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Yes, she's quite sociable with people she likes."</p><p>"And Cauthorn?"</p><p>"Chatting with Maeve."</p><p>"Black?"</p><p>"I don't know, I'm not that close to him, you know."</p><p>"And...Luana?"</p><p>Charlie felt silent.</p><p>"I don't know. I rarely see her these days."</p><p>Henry hummed, but one glance at him told Charlie he was worried too.</p><p>"I saw her the other day." He said, his voice sounding distant. "She was with some older lads of my house, drinking with them." He sighed. "I tried to tell her something, but she yelled at me." Henry looked at Charlie. "Have you guys talked to her? I'm not surprised she won't listen to me since we're barely friends but you guys-"</p><p>"She won't listen to us." Charlie interrupted. She felt a breeze pass by and hugged her jacket closer to her. "She's barely ever in the dorm. Only comes down for breakfast and disappears after first period. I barely see her in classes too."</p><p>Henry huffed, walking a bit faster.</p><p>"Well then, we need to catch her, sit her down and have a talk, don't we?" He said.</p><p>"Henry it's best not. She needs time to heal and us just ganging up on her-"</p><p>"But she isn't healing, now is she?!" Henry snaped almost yelling. "All she's doing is avoiding it. She's in denial and she won't stop until we do something."</p><p>Charlie scowled.</p><p>"How the hell do you know? Have you ever lost someone? Everyone deals with it differently. Just- let her come to terms in her own way. We won't do anything by trying to push her." She tried.</p><p>Henry huffed but kept silent.</p><p>Charlie could feel the tension hanging in the air after that, and the walk back was filled with silence.</p><p>+++</p><p>Friday was truly the only day Luana bothered to even go to classes. For some reason, Binns monotone voice didn't seem to ignite her desire to leave. As so, it was the only day the girls knew for certain she ate lunch. They would trap her from each side, linking their arms with hers, and drag her to the Great Hall.</p><p>Luana would of course, humour them, and eat while trying to talk nonstop, keeping the pace of the conversation fast and a new theme every few moments.</p><p>Charlie and Pauline did their best to try and keep up.</p><p>In a middle of a rant about how she was certain Binns books were incredibly outdated, the owls came in.</p><p>As usual, Charlie grabbed some bacon and held it out for Yaris. Luana started to pet Yaris as she kept talking. Charlie set her letter aside, and kept listening. Pauline opened her parents parcel and divided the sweets they send between the three girls absently and she read their letter.</p><p>As Charlie listened to Luana, she noticed one of the school's owls dropping a letter at Luana's side, who didn't even look up.</p><p>Soon after Charlie felt a tap on her leg, and heard Pauline ask a question. With her now paying attention, Charlie opened her parent's letter.</p><p>However, she didn't get to read it, and she heard the soft tap of Luana's finger against the table. She was already bored with the topic.</p><p>"Say," she started. " I feel like doing something today. You guys up for a little sneaking into the forbidden forest?" She asked, her eyes flashing.</p><p>Charlie and Pauline both shared a look and hesitated for a second. But a second seemed enough for Luana.</p><p>Luana huffed and got up.</p><p>"Fine then pansies, I'll go by myself."</p><p>As Luana quickly left the great Hall, Charlie turned her gaze to Luana's seat; her mother's letter was still next to her plate, untouched.</p><p>+++</p><p>There were few moments where Charlie actually thought Merlin must have pitied her and helped her. And, as she looked around, she realized this must be one of those times.</p><p>Charlie was on her free period and was planning to go to the library to end her boredom, and yet a better opportunity showed up right in front of her.</p><p>On the hall she just turned to stood Sirius Black.</p><p>Charlie thought it was incredibly weird how neither James nor Remus were around, since they seemed all attached to the hip.</p><p>In fact, the more she looked, the weirder she found Sirius' behaviour.</p><p>His back was to her so she couldn't make out whatever he was scribbling on his parchment, but just the simple idea of Sirius being more concentrated on some school paper than on where he's going was suspicious.</p><p>Even weirder was the fact that, even though he kept looking from the parchment and around him ( most likely to ground himself) he quickly went back to the parchment and wouldn't move.</p><p>Curious, Charlie tip toed her way to him. She stood right behind him and he had yet to notice her. She tried to catch a glimpse of his parchment but since he was taller than her (and was basically curled around the bloody parchment) she couldn't make out anything.</p><p>"Wat'chu doin'?" She asked.</p><p>Sirius jumped so high in the air, that his ink bottle flew from his grip and shattered in the ground. He also squealed incredibly high, but Charlie decided to store that for later. He quickly whipped around to face Charlie.</p><p>She kept her face with a cool expression, which was hard considering the almost comical look of surprise on Sirius' face. And here she thought his eyes couldn't look any bigger than usual.</p><p>"I'm waiting." she said, after a second.</p><p>"What are you doing here?" He asked, ignoring her question. Which of course made Charlie's suspicions even bigger.</p><p>She got closer to him, close enough that in normal circumstances she'd be embarrassed. As she studied his confused and flustered face up close, she could see he was distracted by her action.</p><p>"W-wha-" he asked but she didn't let him finish. She quickly came closer as he stepped a bit back and grabbed the parchment from his hand. She quickly contoured him and continued walking as she studied the parchment.</p><p>It wasn't much, no doodles and few words. Definitely not homework. In fact, it looked like-</p><p>"Why are you mapping the corridor?" She asked, stopping to look at him. He had his wand out and was fixing his ink bottle absently.</p><p>Sirius, who must have snapped from his confused trance, quickly caught up to her and ripped the parchment from her hand. He scowled at her.</p><p>"None of your business." He said in an annoyed tone. Probably because he didn't want people asking about it (which just made Charlie want to know even more).</p><p>Her face must have betrayed her and showed how much more interested she was because Sirius' scowl deepened.</p><p>"So, it's sensitive information." She said, the excitement clear on her tone. It all felt like some of the detective movies she saw with her dad, where the small details were normally the ones who cracked the entire case.</p><p>"I didn't say that." He replied. "I'm just bored, it means nothing."</p><p>"If it means nothing, why are you scowling that I'm interested in it?"</p><p>"I'm not scowling for this!" He said, as he quickly hid the parchment on his satchel. "Why did you come so close to me?!" He asked, clearly annoyed at Charlie's actions.</p><p>"People get uncomfortable when someone enters their safe space." She replied, in a matter-of-fact tone.</p><p>"Yeah, no shit!" He said, scowling.</p><p>"Well, it worked didn't it? You got so distracted with my presence that you lowered your guard while trying to understand why I did what I did."</p><p>Sirius didn't stop scowling but he let the topic go.</p><p>After a few seconds of awkward silence, Charlie opened her mouth.</p><p>"I'm sorry." She started. "I'm just curious by nature. I didn't mean to annoy you that much."</p><p>Sirius scowl disappeared and he gave her a small smile.</p><p>"It fine. I'm just annoyed someone manage to trick me. I'm the king of cool! How could I lose it so easily? Disgusting." He shook his head and Charlie chuckled.</p><p>"Why did you cut your hair?" She asked. The smile left Sirius face as he passed a hand through his short hair. It was only now getting a bit wavy.</p><p>"My mum did it." He said simply, and Charlie realised from his tone that he didn't want to talk about it. Not knowing what to say, she simply said.</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>The tow kept walking, and it was only now that Charlie noticed he was shadowing her to the library.</p><p>"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you." He said, "I need to ask you something." He finished, opening his satchel, trying to find something.</p><p>His satchel seemed fill of papers and Charlie felt a bit better knowing she wasn't the only one with a messy satchel.</p><p>Finally, he pulled a paper out of it and held it to her.</p><p>Charlie frowned. It was their latest Herbology essay Professor Sprout asked them to do. It was like a small review of everything they learned in the latter years, as a way to helped them when studying for OWLs. She had managed a O, which was only more impressive considering she had to pit ball what they taught at Hogwarts in those years since Beauxbatons went with a different approach. Sirius got a T.</p><p>"So," she said, " I'm guessing you want some help with herbology?"</p><p>"Yes." He immediately answered. "Please? Just enough to pass! If I do, my uncle Alphard said he'd buy me something I really want and-" Charlie held her hand, cutting Sirius rant.</p><p>"Don't worry. I'll help." She said. In other circumstances she might decline, since she already occasionally helps Rory and the girls, but since everyone seems busy these days and she didn't really feel like being alone in the library (again), she'd have no problem helping him out.</p><p>"When are you free?" She asked.</p><p>"Right now!" He said, grabbing her arm, pushing her down the corridor to the library.</p><p>"But I don't have my book, so you'll have to let me borrow yours." He added.</p><p>Charlie sighed. Still better than sitting alone.</p><p>+++</p><p>Charlie woke up with a bang. She looked around but couldn't see anything, it was still dark.</p><p>It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness but when they did, she felt her stomach drop.</p><p>She looked ahead, at Luana, who had just come in, and had accidentally hit her trunk. She cursed, but something in her slow movement and slurred words made Charlie realised in what state she came in. She heard the shifting of blankets and saw that Pauline too had woken up . Both shared a look.</p><p>Charlie got up and went to help Luana. She gritted her teeth and forced herself not to lean away from the reek of alcohol that seem to hover over Luana.</p><p>"Oof." Luana said, as Charlie threw her in her bed. She giggled a bit. "Thank you." She said a small voice.</p><p>Pauline joined Charlie in trying to put Luana in a decent position so she wouldn't wake up sore, but a tipsy Luana was even more annoying than a sober one.</p><p>When Pauline tried to take her shoes, she squirmed and rolled so much she almost fell. Of course, then she said she felt bad and felt like throwing up so they had to stood for a while with a bucket.</p><p>When Luana realised she wouldn't puke, Charlie went to take the little clips she had in her hair, preventing it to from hitting her eyes. Of course, Luana complained that she was pulling too hard.</p><p>At some point, she ended up resting her head on Charlies thigh and Charlie pretended she didn't hear her cry silently as she patted her hair.</p><p>After all, by morning Luana would pretend nothing happened.</p><p>+++</p><p>Charlie stared at her essay with shock. The sound of students packing their things barely hit her ears. She felt Pauline nudge her but didn't respond.</p><p>She couldn't believe it. She did it.</p><p>Charlie felt like crying as she starred at the big EE on her Astronomy essay lovingly. She spent all week writing and improving the damned thing, forcing both Pauline and Rory to read it over and over to make sure it was getting better. At some point she remembered crying in stress and feeling tempted to rip the bloody essay apart.</p><p>She quickly got up and packed all her things except her essay. She was definitely going to frame this one.</p><p>Pauline went ahead, along with Maeve and Althea. Charlie could faintly hear them talk about their essays and complain about how late it already was. As she walked slowly, Charlie felt as if she was on cloud nine. Now all she needed to do was get an A in her exam and she'd pass this dreaded class. After that it would only be two more years of this class and Charlie could quit it.</p><p>Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Rory running to her. He didn't manage to stop on time and bumped her a bit, making her snap out of her thoughts.</p><p>"There you are!" He said, grinning. It was nearing one in the morning and yet Rory looked as cheery as he did in the morning.</p><p>Charlie didn't even wait for him to ask as she shoved her essay to his face and squealed in happiness. Rory took a step back and grabbed her essay. He grinned when he saw her grade.</p><p>"Rowena, you did it!" He squealed, just as excited as Charlie. "I'm so proud of you!" He sobbed, hugged her tight. Charlie grinned and hugged back. She sighed into his neck.</p><p>Finally, all her hard work in Astronomy was paying off.</p><p>+++</p><p>As Charlie looked around her dorm, she wondered how long this peace was going to last.</p><p>Both Luana and Pauline were sprawled in Pauline's bed (since Luana's bed had become a pile of clothes and books that somehow Luana avoided as she slept in it.) laughing about what had happened on their History class yesterday.</p><p>Somehow, Marcellus Cornfoot, a Gryffindor boy, managed to slip his head from his arm as he slept and fell face fist in his open ink bottle. With the commotion, he jumped after hitting the table and fell to the floor. Charlie grinned as she remembered the big mark of ink he left on the floor, somewhat resembling his face.</p><p>Charlie watched as Luana imitated the look on Cornfoot's face as he fell, and as Pauline tried to copy his shriek ( leading to more fits of laughter). Charlie chuckled from her desk and turned to the parchment in from of her.</p><p>She was supposed to be writing to her parents, something she normally always did on Saturdays. However, she found herself trying to cling to the scene behind her.</p><p>She knew it wouldn't last. Any minute now Luana would start bouncing her leg or tapping her finger, something she did whenever she felt the need to quickly leave. Both Charlie and Pauline figured that, whenever she got impatient, was when she started to dwell on what happened.</p><p>They had still not talk much about it. Every time they tried, Luana would leave, sometimes coming back tipsy or at high hours of the morning. The behaviour felt so odd to Charlie.</p><p>She knew each person dealt with lost in their own way, but she never imagined Luana to lose it like this. She imagined her to be angry and to cry and eventually move on. Pretending it wasn't there, ignoring reality, felt like a move Luana wouldn't pull.</p><p>But then again, maybe they didn't know Luana that well. She rarely talked about life in Portugal, or her life before Beauxbâtons, only mentioning family here and there. And Charlie knew Luana had a nasty habit of letting her mind wander, to live sometimes in her own world. After all, Luana was always the more creative of them all-</p><p>"Oh Christ, it was so funny!" Charlie heard Luana say. She smiled, and decided to stop dwelling on it for a bit, and just enjoy this little moment of normalcy. Still, Henry's words played on the background, as if accusing Charlie of being a bad friend. Was she a bad friend? Wasn't it best to just support Luana and let her handle it on her own?</p><p>All she's doing is avoiding it. She's in denial and she won't stop until we do something.</p><p>"Merlin! It was so hard to keep my posture!" Charlie snapped out of her daze and looked at Pauline. Her eyes shined as she laughed with Luana. "And did you see the look on Blishwick's face?" Pauline laughed some more.</p><p>Luana laughed so hard she snorted a bit. "She must have felt so embarrassed to be dating him!" She managed between laughs.</p><p>Pauline's hands shook in alarm, her eyes huge as she tried to calm down to speak. Charlie guessed she had some new gossip she wanted to say badly.</p><p>"Merlin's beards, didn't you hear? I think she broke up with him!" She finally said. Luana's eyes widen as she lifted her head, a shocked expression on her face.</p><p>"You're serious?" She asked.</p><p>Pauline nodded furiously, a smirk on her lips. "Positive."</p><p>Luana laughed, "Christ, those two snogged so much I just figured she'd get pregnant before that."</p><p>"Right?" Pauline said enthusiastically. "Merlin you should have seen the way she spoke about it-"</p><p>"She was the one who told you?"</p><p>Pauline shook her head.</p><p>"No, she was talking to Chawla, you know that Gryffindor girl with the nose piercing? Yes exactly, her. I heard them talk about it last Monday- during Ancient Runes."</p><p>Luana hummed. "I never noticed them in that class." She said absently, most likely still wondering who Eloise Chawla was.</p><p>Pauline snorted, "Well no wonder, you barely show up anyway." She playfully glared at Luana. "Shame, you're missing some real fun."</p><p>Charlie saw Luana stiffen, and her foot that wasn't on the bed, start bouncing. Her stomach dropped as she realised it wouldn't be long before she left once more.</p><p>Maybe Henry was right, maybe they should talk to Luana, in the very least try and talk her into going to her classes.</p><p>"You should go more." Charlie said, "If you keep missing like you do, you'll never catch up with what you already missed."</p><p>Pauline nodded, casually looking at Luana. "Exactly, and we can help, I've been taking extra notes for you and all."</p><p>Luana hummed, her eyes fixed on her ceiling. Charlie could tell by her tone that she wasn't liking where this was headed.</p><p>"Don't worry about classes." She finally said, her tone cold and with a finality to it. "I've got everything under control."</p><p>Pauline scoffed. "Clearly not. Since you close to flunking the year."</p><p>"If I flunk, I flunk." Luana said, getting up. Still, neither girl was ready to throw the towel just yet.</p><p>"That's absurd Luana! You can't just flunk a year because your dad-" But Charlie didn't get to finish, as Luana turned to her, eyes cold as ice, and with a snarl on her face.</p><p>"My dad what?!" She yelled. From behind Luana Pauline jumped at the tone, but Charlie was expecting it.</p><p>"Do you think he'd like this? You, giving up school?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Luana's expression changed immediately. Her face was voided of any emotions as she slowly approached Charlie. Charlie felt so small, like she was a prey and Luana a predator.</p><p>"Yes, actually, he does. Maybe next time learn to control your impulses so not to say or do anything stupid." Luana glanced at Charlie up and down. "Sure as hell would have been useful back in beauxbâtons." She spat.</p><p>An ice like feeling travelled through Charlie as she tried to keep her face with the same determination as before. As if Luana's words didn't pierce her heart.</p><p>She faintly heard Pauline gasp. Her eyes couldn't look at her now, or else the emotions she was keeping at bay would appear. Instead she kept her staring match with Luana. She wanted to say something, anything, but her voice betrayed her, and she knew that if she spoke she'd choke.</p><p>Instead she just stared as Luana started to move to the door, always keeping eye contact, and left.</p><p>Charlie felt a pressure leave her chest, but she knew she wasn't safe yet. Pauline was next to her so suddenly, and if Pauline saw her cry, she'd cry. Charlie knew she still felt guilty about Charlie's indirect expulsion.</p><p>"Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she searched Charlie's face. Charlie clenched her jaw as to not waver, but she needed to leave, she needed to leave so bad. She couldn't hold it anymore.</p><p>"Yeah." She said, her voice cracking. "I'm just going to go after her." She lied and fled the dorm.</p><p>She was proud of holding her tears until she closed the door. She was not proud of breaking as soon as she started her descent to the common room. She could barely see the stairs, it was just blurs of grey and she tried not to fall while quickly leaving.</p><p>She wasn't sure where to go, but she still left as soon as she arrived at the common room, she'd figured it out later. Right now, she just needed to leave. She needed to get away from the enormous hurt and guilt she felt.</p><p>The guilt of forcing her friends to move schools, to sacrifice all they knew, to go to different countries, to find any possible way to stay together all because Charlie didn't even want to bother in making new friends, was still so fresh in her heart. Guilt she always felt, but that Pauline and mostly Luana always assured her they didn't feel. They always said they were fine with the move, that it didn't matter.</p><p>Charlie roamed the halls, no destination in place. By now she had cried it all. But still, the emotionless look on Luana's face as she spoke those words of hatred towards her was fresh on her mind.</p><p>In fact, Charlie was sure that look would haunt her for the rest of her life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next update will be, hopefully, on the 4th of November. Life is a bit messy at the moment, so from now on updates might be more irregular.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 11- 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Charlie rubbed her temple, really hoping she'd somehow manage to become someone else.</p><p>In front of her, Sirius stared at the questions she gave him, a look of panic slowly making his way onto his face. She really wanted to help him out, after all these were basic questions and watching him struggle so much was becoming a slow torture, but she needed to know how much (or less in this case) he knew of herbology.</p><p>"Just do what you remember. It's just so I know where you need the most help." She said. She noticed that he didn't look as panicked as before, but the look still alarmed her.</p><p>She looked around. She wondered what Rory was up to. She had tried to tutor both boys at the same time, but it just ended up with Sirius managing to distract Rory.</p><p>Finally, her gaze settled on the window. With the end of January, she could see the weather turn a bit better. It was rare to see snow these days.</p><p>As she watched the grounds, Charlie noticed one tree in particular: an almond tree. She frowned. Almond trees weren't something Charlie saw a lot, especially since they bloomed better in warmer places. As she focused on the tree, she noticed that it most likely had a charm, making the atmosphere around it the one needed to grow.</p><p>The charm didn't surprise her. Bauxbâtons was filled with flowers and trees from all sorts of places, some with charms to make sure they bloomed.</p><p>Below the almond tree, there was a sea of whiteness- petals, she realised. The petals falling from the tree made it almost look like snow.</p><p>A memory flashed through Charlie's head. One of a younger Luana, smiling at the tree ahead, an almond tree somewhere in the Beauxbâtons grounds, and explaining this tale- a tale of a southern king who fell in love with a northerner princess who missed her home. To please her, he planted almond trees, so that in the winter when the petals would fall, it resembled the snow she missed. Until that year, it was the closest Luana was to seeing real snow, she said.</p><p>The pain in Charlie's heart was instantaneous. She forced the memory of her mind, and avoided looking at the tree again.</p><p>It had been 3 days since she saw Luana. After she left on Saturday, she didn't arrive at the dorm. They only saw her at breakfast, where she sat on the other side of the table, with some older students.</p><p>In classes, which she of course barely went to, she seated herself away from the girls. She wouldn't even look at them.</p><p>Whenever Charlie gazed at her, she didn't see any anger, so she was sure she wasn't mad anymore. She looked sad if anything. But Luana was always great at hiding how she felt.</p><p>Pauline too, had been acting different. She tried to talk to Luana a few times, but Luana would brush her off. Charlie was at least glad she didn't throw something at Pauline's face as she had done to her. Charlie could take it better than Pauline.</p><p>Truly, Charlie didn't even know how to feel. She felt betrayed of course. Luana above all knew of Charlie's doubt and insecurities and Charlie wouldn't ever guess for her to throw some at Charlie's face. It just wasn't who Luana was.</p><p>Charlie knew, deep down, it was a desperate move. That Luana had said what she did so she could avoid the real talk they needed to have. But still, it didn't stop the hurt Charlie felt. She wasn't even sure if she could ever trust Luana like she had before.</p><p>Something hit Charlie's face as she snapped out of her thoughts. She turned her gaze to Sirius, who was looking at her expectantly.</p><p>"Hm?" she said.</p><p>"Did you even listen to me?"</p><p>"Obviously not, or else I wouldn't have asked."</p><p>Sirius rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Here, smart-arse. I'm finished. Please look it over before you go back to dreaming about Cauthorn."</p><p>Now it was Charlie who rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Not everyone is as obsessed with snogging as you are, Sirius."</p><p>Sirius eyes playfully narrowed. "Now, you told you I was obsessed with snogging? Was it Chawla?"</p><p>Charlie snorted. "No."</p><p>"Harris?"</p><p>"Who?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Sirius eyes narrowed again. "So, not her." He muttered. Charlie's eyebrow quirked.</p><p>"It was Espey, wasn't it?"</p><p>Charlie felt her mouth open in shock.</p><p>"You snogged someone of my own house?" She asked, stunned. Truth be told, she was joking when she said he was obsessed, but now she'd really wished she hadn't said anything at all. She'd never be able to look Sophie Espey in the eyes ever again.</p><p>Sirius eyes shot up in surprise. "Oh." He said. "Forget what I said."</p><p>" I wish I could."</p><p>"I mean it. For some reason she was very embarrassed afterwards-"</p><p>"I'd be too."</p><p>"Hey!" Sirius said, throwing another piece of parchment her way. "If you must know it is a privileged to ever get to snog me."</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure. Do tell me, why was she embarrassed." Charlie asked, leaning on her elbow. "Did you use too much tongue?"</p><p>Sirius glared at her as he stayed silent. After a moment he threw his answered questions at her, "Just correct the bloody questions."</p><p>Charlie laughed, "You did, didn't you?"</p><p>"I don't want to talk about it!" He snapped.</p><p>Charlie snorted, but focused on the questions. It seemed that Sirius really listened to what Charlie said and only did what he knew. Charlie stared at the 4 questions he answered out of 20, and thought of a nice way to tell him he needed more tutoring than she realised.</p><p>"It's bad, isn't it?" He said, making Charlie look up.</p><p>"No! No..." she trailed, looking down. He only got one right. "It's really helpful to know where I got to help you the most."</p><p>"You're a shitty liar." He said.</p><p>"Yes Charlie," A new voice interrupted. Charlie looked as James Potter sat down on the seat next to Sirius, "You're a really bad liar."</p><p>Sirius grinned and Charlie rolled her eyes. Perfect, now she'd never get Sirius to pay attention.</p><p>"What are you doing here James?" She asked.</p><p>James feigned a look of outrage.</p><p>"What? I can't come to see my friends?" He held a hand to his heart. "And to think I was going to thank you on my hands and knees for-"</p><p>"James." She snapped, rubbing her temple once more. Truly, the last thing she needed right now was these two starting to act like arse holes.</p><p>"What? I'm serious!"</p><p>"No," Sirius interrupted, a smirk emerging on his face, "I am."</p><p>Charlie groaned and rolled her eyes. She was sure that right now she'd lost the small attention Sirius had, so might as well leave.</p><p>As she started to get up, both boys stopped her.</p><p>"No, wait okay, okay. I mostly came because Remus kicked me out of the dorm. Apparently, he's trying to comfort Cornfoot and I'm not helping."</p><p>"I can see why."</p><p>James ignored her. "But also, I'd come to thank you. Henry thankfully dropped the whole idea of waking up before dawn to run laps."</p><p>Charlie smiled. "You're welcome."</p><p>A few moments went by of awkward silent. It was clear, by the way he rubbed his neck, that James wanted to say something else.</p><p>"I uh, wanted to ask you something too." He finally said, his hand messing his hair even more as his entire face and neck flushed red. Sirius, who seemed to already know what this was about, just cackled.</p><p>"Do you think that... maybe... since you know her... that if I asked Evans for Hogsmeade on Valentine' days...That she'd say yes?" He tried hopefully, looking like a tomato. Sirius cackled once more but Charlie ignored him, too confuse to even process everything around her.</p><p>"Evans as in...Lily Evans?" She asked, the incredulous in her tone obvious. James nodded.</p><p>"But I thought- You said you hated her!"</p><p>"Well, wait a minute!" He quickly said. "I never said I hated her-"</p><p>"James, you claimed you lost all interest in Transfiguration because you had to share a seat with her!"</p><p>James lips thinned.</p><p>"Yes I know I may have exaggerated in the past-"</p><p>"-Last month!-"</p><p>"-But, I matured since then." James stopped to allow Sirius to crackle loudly once more. "And I've come to realise that maybe Evans is a goddess among us lowly peasants."</p><p>"What?" Was all Charlie could manage to say.</p><p>"It's his way to say he has the hots for her."</p><p>"Shut up Sirius! I don't 'have the hots' for her!"</p><p>"Hey, call it whatever you want, but truth is, you got it bad."</p><p>James scowled.</p><p>"Whatever, I'm sure that after one or two dates it'll go away." He said, turning once more to Charlie, an expression of hope so big that Charlie thought James might actually want more than just one or two dates with Lily.</p><p>"So? Do you think she'll say yes?"</p><p>
  <em>No.</em>
</p><p>"I mean.."</p><p>
  <em>Most likely never.</em>
</p><p>"I doubt it, but if you really want to try-"</p><p>"I do!" He said, banging his fist on the table. Charlie could already hear the hurried paces of Ms. Pince. "That's settles it then. I'll ask Evans out!"</p><p>Thankfully, Ms. Pince arrived at that exact moment, and Charlie didn't get to answer how much of a bad idea it was.</p><p>Still, she was sure that, whatever crush James might have on Lily would pass over soon enough.</p><p>+++</p><p>Henry stared at the last set of stairs with distaste.</p><p>From here he could see The Fat Lady, but his legs already felt like lead, just the thought of climbing the remaining of the stairs- whenever they change to his position that is- seemed like a nightmare<em>.</em></p><p>It was in times like these that he really envied the Hufflepuffs. Common room on the lower floors, barely any stairs and the kitchen close by. Lucky bastards.</p><p>Finally, the stairs made their way to Henry, who felt so eager to just get into the shower. Normally, after quidditch practice he'd leave with the team after showering at the pitch's showers.</p><p>However, some smart ass apparently hit the pipes with their brooms ( how they even manage Henry had no fucking idea) and now there was no hot water. Since there were no more games until March, Filch , the new caretaker, delayed the repair to the last moment.</p><p>So now, Henry had to stand there, covered in mud and sweat, tired as hell, and wondering why he even bothered. Only with a miracle would Gryffindor win this year.</p><p>Henry quickly climbed the stairs, ignoring his sore muscles, and muttered the password.<br/>At last, he could see his goal: The boys' staircases. Soon he'd been in his room and he'd get to shower and put some warm, <em>clean </em>clothes and sleep the rest of the night.</p><p>He could easily ask Robin to smuggle him some dinner so he wouldn't have to climb any more stairs-</p><p>His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a laugh. He looked to the couches on the common room, where some 4th years and one sketchy 6th year, were all huddled together.</p><p>Henry rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what was happening. He couldn't remember the 6th year boy's name- Will maybe- but he knew he had knack for getting the younger kids drunk so he could pawn their wallets.</p><p>Henry stopped. Should he do something? He wasn't a prefect and it's not like he was the perfect model to just criticize the bloke. Still, he could only imagine if he ever tried to do something like that to Charlie ,or Godric forbid, little Annie.</p><p>Sighing, Henry made his way to the group. As he neared, he could see a bottle of fire whiskey being passed around.</p><p>"What do you morons think you're doin'? " He boomed. Most of the kids jumped and looked at him. Henry stared at the group. There were at least 10 kids, of all houses it seemed. Mostly Gryffindors but Henry could see some Hufflepuff ties and even a Ravenclaw one.</p><p>"Having fun Ellis. Want some?" The 6th year asked. Henry sneered at him.</p><p>"Go to your fucking dorm before I report you to the Head boy"</p><p>The 6th year stood, as if to threaten Henry. And Henry had to say, his sneer sure was intimidating, but Henry was easily 10cm taller than the boy, and bigger too. Normally he didn't like it much- it was clear he got that genetics from his deadbeat father's side- but it sure came useful in fights.</p><p>After a few moments, the boy nodded arrogantly.</p><p>"See you tomorrow Ellis." He said, bumping Henry's shoulder. Henry rolled his eyes and turned to the kids.</p><p>"Well?" He said. "Go to your dorms-all of you." He snapped.</p><p>The kids all moved and now Henry could see all of them. Some threw him wary looks as they passed by but Henry didn't even notice- his eyes stayed put on the person on the middle, who glared at him.</p><p>Henry sighed, disappointed. "I should have guessed you would be here. Is that twat who gets you drunk every other day?" He asked, looking at Luana.</p><p>She, of course, glared at him, her brown eyes cold like Henry had never seen before. Not even when he used to annoy her to pieces.</p><p>"I've never gotten drunk-"</p><p>"Oh? Is that all you have to say?"</p><p>"Well you didn't let me finish!" She snaped, getting up. "What's it to you, anyway? Just because I was nice to you after you lost doesn't mean we're friends, you know."</p><p>"Well too bad because to me, you're my friend." He snapped back. "And just because Charlie won't say it, doesn't mean I won't. What the fuck are you doing Luana?" He asked, getting annoyed.</p><p>She glared at him. "I'm standing."</p><p>"Don't fucking sass me Luana, you know what I'm talking about. Is this really worth it?" He yelled, throwing his hands into the hair. "You can't keep ignoring reality like this. You've got to come down to earth and face it- no matter how hard it is."</p><p>"No, I don't think I will. I think I'll finally do whatever the fuck I want, consequences be damned. If I want to ignore reality, I'll fucking do it. You just watch me." She snapped, trying walk passed him.</p><p>Sadly for her, Henry was just about done with this. He didn't care if Charlie yelled at him after, he couldn't watch this girl ruin her life any longer. Sure, they weren't that good of friends, but she helped him when he needed and if he didn't help her when <em>she </em>needed, then he'd forever regret it.</p><p>He blocked her path, which was ridiculously easy since she was the scrawniest thing Henry had ever seen.</p><p>Luana of course didn't like it, and glared at him. Her eyes resembling fire as she pushed him.</p><p>"Get out of my way." She said, trying to sidestep him. He blocked her again.</p><p>This repeated itself for a while until she finally snapped. She pushed him hard as she yelled at him. Henry didn't move, and just watched as she kept pushing him with all her might.</p><p>"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" she shrieked.</p><p>At some point, her words muddled together to just a big cry, and her pushing turned to sobbing.</p><p>Henry wasn't the best at comforting, and no matter how awkward it might be, he still decided that hugging Luana was the best option.</p><p>She fought it, trying to free herself as she yelled and cried. But he held her tight.</p><p>"It's okay." He said, not really sure if it was, "It'll be okay."</p><p>She sobbed, harder than before, letting her head fall into his shoulder.</p><p>"Oh God- I- I didn't – I didn't even get to say goodbye." She sobbed so much Henry barely understood. He could feel tears in his own eyes, a reaction normal to how raw Luana was sobbing, but he didn't allow them to fall. He needed to be here for her.</p><p>"I- I don't-" She sobbed. "I wasn't even there- I went- and now he's gone. He's gone. I didn't even- he left and- fuck Henry, how am I supposed to go now? How to I make this stop? I just- I miss him so much." She sobbed.</p><p>Henry lowered them both to the ground. One of his hands still held Luana to him, and the other went to her hair, as he tried to comfort her.</p><p>They stayed there for what it felt like hours. He managed to sneakily put a silencing charm around them so when everyone came down for dinner, they didn't ogle.</p><p>He could feel her cling to him, her fingers tightly clasping his shoulders as she tried to ground herself once more in reality.</p><p>She cried herself to sleep. It was past midnight by then, and Henry wasn't sure what to do.</p><p>He ended up deciding to tuck her on the couch, bringing her some blankets. He remembered how she always carried extra jackets, she wasn't used to cold weathers, so he brought all his covers.</p><p>Even as she slept, she looked so vulnerable, that Henry knew he couldn't leave her here alone. He looked around and sat on the closest couch, keeping a watchful eye.</p><p>Soon, his own exhaustion caught up to him, and he fell asleep there.</p><p>When he woke up the next morning, Luana was gone, and he was covered in all the covers he brought to her.</p><p>+++</p><p>Luana gazed at the Black Lake. She was shivering slightly, but felt too tired to even move.</p><p>She had considered bringing one of Henry's covers with her, but then she remembered how he was shivering slightly, in such a weird position just to fit in the couch. And all so she wasn't alone all night.</p><p>She could feel a pain in her heart. In that one moment, she felt like crying once more, something she hated to do in front of people.</p><p>Henry had been so nice, Pauline and been so patient and Charlie...</p><p>
  <em>Charlie...</em>
</p><p>The pain in Luana's heart intensified. She was so disgusted with herself. To use someone's insecurities against them... something someone trusted onto her in a moment of weakness... How could she just throw it at Charlie's face? And worse, how could she have felt so little regret at the moment?</p><p>It was only at night, when she was surrounded by some older blokes from Gryffindor that she felt the guilt truly hit her.</p><p>A memory appeared before she could stop it: it was her father. She was six, and he had forgotten his lunch at home. Her mother told her to run over to the construction site and give it to him. When she arrived, he kissed her cheek and introduced her to all his mates. She remembered the glint in his light eyes. He was so proud of her, for simply existing, for bringing him his lunch. She remembered how he shared half of it with a younger boy, probably 16, who didn't bring any.</p><p>Despite all his faults and errors, her father always tried to be kind to all, always tried to give his kids all he could. She remembered how her mother used to say that she foremost loved how kind he could be.</p><p>And now he was gone. And there was no one else to call when some weird bug crawled through her window at night. No one to bring her a treat to bed on Sunday mornings during the summer. No one to help her feed the pigs. No one to fix her bike on the rare occasions something happened to it. No one to simply kiss her cheek and look at her with so much pride in their eyes.</p><p>Her vision blurred. She could barely make sense of her gaze on her hands. All the memories, the small things, all of it flashed before her. And she wasn't strong enough to stop it. She couldn't anymore.</p><p>She tried to ignore it for so long. She tried to pretend that maybe the heart attack didn't kill him, that he was at the hospital and it was all fine.</p><p>But then she remembered the funeral. Going to Cacela Velha on purpose. They didn't leave that close by, but that church was always her father's favourite. Her grandparents were buried in the cemetery there, and now so was her father.</p><p>Her ears ringed, she could no longer hear the birds or the wind, just her loud sobs.</p><p>She remembered thinking it was a beautiful day. The view next to the church is something impossible to beat. From there, so high up, you can see the sea, separated by the river by a stripe of sand. The river wasn't deep- Luana used to swim there as a kid- and next to it, it seemed like a small jungle. Green from trees and brown from the land. If you turned your head, you'd see hills for miles. The sun always shone particularly brighter there.</p><p>She remembered the small descend to the cemetery, she remembered thinking the copple stoned pave walk would ruin her old shoes. Most of all, she remembered her mother's cries. They still haunted her. So raw, with so much suffering.</p><p>And then she remembered the casket, and the eerie silence of the graveyard, only her mother's cries were heard. She remembers vaguely resting some daises on top of the casket- the same flowers her father always got her when she particularly good at school.</p><p>She'd never get them now. Nor would she hear the sound of his old boots hitting the floor.</p><p>She could never make fun of his attempts at growing a moustache. Or the weird way he sneezed. </p><p>Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart. The pain felt so big, so intense, that no matter how hard she'd cried and sobbed, it wouldn't leave her. He was gone, gone, gone and he wouldn't ever come back to her. To hug her, to kiss her head, to just smile at her.</p><p>Her head started to hurt as well, a banging inside so big it felt as if it split open.</p><p>How could he just leave her like this?! How could he just leave without her even being in the house?! Without her getting to at least say goodbye?!</p><p>She yelled, not really sure how she felt. She felt hurt and upset and angry. Her chest felt as if ripping apart, the pain so big she thought she would faint.</p><p>She looked around, trying to make sense of the blurs in front of her. By now she was quietly sobbing, her throat raw from all the crying she did. Her head was on the ground, she was laying down.</p><p>She didn't remember getting like this.</p><p>She closed her eyes.</p><p>He was gone.</p><p>+++</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>"Yes, Charlie. I'm sure nocturnal beasts doesn't include vampires." Pauline answered back, in a bored tone.</p><p>Charlie bit her lip, but still crossed the error on her DADA homework. Normally she'd prefer to do anything but homework, but she didn't get many changes of Pauline basically telling her everything she needed to know. But ever since the fight on Saturday that she'd watched over Charlie like a hawk, as if anticipating the moment Charlie would start crying.</p><p>Charlie didn't mind, she knew she had cried all she could on Saturday. Even if she wasn't sure of her own feelings, she knew crying more would make no difference. She still felt a pang in her heart whenever she thought of Luana, but she wasn't sure if it was her own pain of betrayal of her guilt of allowing her best friend to succumb to her sadness for so long.</p><p>"Okay." She finally said, "Then, are werewolves nocturnal creatures?"</p><p>She looked at Pauline, who was laying on Charlie's bed, and saw her massage her temple. She sighed and eventually nodded.</p><p>Charlie grinned as she rushed to write it down.</p><p>"Alright, what abou-"</p><p>A knock was heard. Charlie sighed as she got up. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Maeve barging in begging Pauline to lend her some eyeliner. After all, last time Maeve accidentally let the lid open and it dried up and Charlie was not in the mood to hear that rant right now when Pauline was letting her basically copy off her.</p><p>But it wasn't Maeve. Or even Althea asking for second opinions on her works.</p><p>In fact, as Charlie looked at Luana, she wondered why she bothered to knock, since this is her dorm as well.</p><p>The pang in her heart came back, even stronger now. This didn't look like the same Luana who had looked at her so cold as she spat <em>those</em> words to her. This girl barely looked like Luana.</p><p>Sure, she had her curly brown hair that Luana wore messy on purpose, and her brown eyes and even her small scar on her left eyebrow. But there was it. This girl was scrawnier than Luana ever was, her face looked la bit like a skull with skin. Her eyes red and puffy, her cheek with dried up tears, her nose red. Her tan hands were wringing each other, a clear sign of nervousness.</p><p>The Luana she knew would never dared to appear so vulnerable in front of others. The Luana she knew wouldn't appear so small in front of others if she could. The Luana she knew looked her in the eyes instead of avoiding her gaze.</p><p>"If it's Maeve, tell her to go away. I'm still crossed at her." She heard Pauline say, breaking her out of her daze. She realised, it had barely been a second, and not the eternity it felt as she watched Luana.</p><p>Luana didn't say anything, she pointed inside with her finger, as if asking for permission. Charlie moved aside, and Luana nodded her head.</p><p>She closed the door and turned her gaze forwards.</p><p>Pauline was now standing, her gaze conflicted as Charlie's. At this point, neither girl could predict Luana's behaviours. She had always been a bit of a wildcard, especially when it came for her to deal with her own emotions, but this last month proved just how much of a wildcard she really can be.</p><p>The three stayed silent for a second. No one really seemed to know what to say.</p><p>Luana turned to look at Charlie, her hands making gestures as if she wanted to speak but her mouth didn't cooperate.</p><p>Charlie patiently awaited, and then it happened.</p><p>Luana broke down.</p><p>Tears quickly came out of her eyes and she sobbed.</p><p>"I'm so, so sorry!" She sobbed, closing her eyes as more tears spilled.</p><p>Both Charlie and Pauline reached her at the same time. They hugged her and allowed her to rest her head on their bodies as more sobs came. Sobs came like a dam was broken. And Charlie was sure Luana didn't really know how to stop it.</p><p>Thought her tears and sobs, she kept talking. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry Charlie. I didn't want to hurt you, I swear. I didn't! I just- It came out and I couldn't stop it. I'm so sorry!" She cried and Charlie stroke her back as she tried to sooth her.</p><p>"I know Lu, it's okay, everything its fine." She kept saying, no knowing what more to say. Pauline too, stroke her back.</p><p>Luana opened her eyes, and looked at Charlie.</p><p>Her eyes were red and puffy. The unshed tears made the brown colour of the irises appear even more intense that it was. And there was an emotion. One Charlie couldn't exactly place, she just knew how powerful it must have been, for Luana looked at her with a fierce determines.</p><p>"Charlie," She started, her sobs not letting Charlie fully understand what she was saying. "Can you forgive me?"</p><p> </p><p>Could she?</p><p> </p><p>She felt so hurt, so betrayed. But she knew why Luana did it, she couldn't possibly blame Luana for it, not when she was in such clear turmoil. Her heart was divided, she truly didn't know if she could ever trust Luana like she did before. How could she, if she would always expect Luana to spit out another secret, another information told onto her on a moment of hurt?</p><p>The words left her before she could stop them.</p><p>"Of course I will." She said, smiling as she tried to ignore the inner conflict in her. She kissed Luana's forehead and rested her head on her shoulders as Luana did the same.</p><p>Charlie settled her gaze ahead of her as she heard Luana's sobs.</p><p> </p><p>She really hoped she could forgive Luana. </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No idea when the next update will be. I'm taking a small hiatus (2 weeks- 1 month) so i can get my life together. </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 12 - 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒'𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"And then, apparently Cornfoot tried to snog Clover Agnew- You know, that Hufflepuff girl? Bit shy, normally only talks to Harriet Glaspie- Merlin's beards! Do you know who Harriet's brother is? He's that cute beater in Gryffindor- not your cousin's friend, the other one- Merlin, I wouldn't mind going to Hogsmeade with him!- By the way, who are you guys going with?"</p><p>Charlie stared at Maeve, who for some reason didn't seem out of breath. How, Charlie didn't know. She felt tired just listening to the rant, she can't even imagine how tiring it was to say it.</p><p>"Uh...no one?" Charlie said.</p><p>Maeve gasped, as if it was a great crime to go to Hogsmeade without a date.</p><p>"No one? But- but... It's Valentine's day! You can't go alone!" Maeve said, her blue eye shining in outrage.</p><p>Charlie shared a look with Pauline, who seemed to rather enjoy the idea of not having a date for the next trip to Hogsmeade- that just so happened to fall under Valentine's day.</p><p>"Oh, I think we'll manage."</p><p>"We?" Maeve blink. Her gaze turned to Pauline.</p><p>"Don't tell me you also don't have a date?"</p><p>Pauline grinned and shook her head. Maeve sputtered something and turned to Luana, who had been gazing ahead.</p><p>"Luana?" She asked, her eyes hoping she'd have a date.</p><p>Luana seemed to snap back to reality and looked at Maeve. Her eyes still felt as if she wasn't really here.</p><p>"What?" She asked, in a weirdly soft tone.</p><p>"Do you have a date for Valentine's day?"</p><p>"Oh." She said, blinking. "No, I'm not going to Hogsmeade."</p><p>Maeve's eyes widen so much Charlie was afraid they'd fall of her face.</p><p>"What do you mean?" She asked.</p><p>Luana shrugged, "Just don't feel like it." And then she returned to gazing into nothing.</p><p>Maeve turned to Charlie and Pauline with an incredulous expression.</p><p>"Are you two going to allow this?"</p><p>Charlie grinned, "Well, we also don't know if we'll go."</p><p>Maeve looked as she would faint any second.</p><p>Charlie grinned. Messing with her was too easy.</p><p>"Well," She said, looking a bit more calm, "Since you guys aren't going on dates, I'm sure you won't mind if Rory tags along?"</p><p>"Shouldn't it be Rory asking?"</p><p>"Yes well- he too had some weird plan on staying behind- Like I'll let him." Maeve scoffed. "And I know he loves Hogsmeade. I think he's just embarrassed. I'm sure he thinks he's the only one around with no dates since all the boys in our year do. But since you guys don't even plan to have them-"</p><p>"Don't worry." Pauline said, surprising Charlie. "We'll ask him to come with us."</p><p>Maeve smiled, and hugged Pauline. "Thanks a million!" She said as she got up.</p><p>"I'm glad to see some more confidence on you, Line."</p><p>"Shut up. I know he's your more friend then he is mine, but that doesn't mean-"</p><p>"Whoa there," Charlie interrupted, "He's as much of your friend as he is mine."</p><p>Pauline threw her a dry look and continued. "Yeah right. That's why he always comes to me after every Astronomy class-"</p><p>"Well, he tutors me. Of course, he wants to know if I payed attention."</p><p>"-Or every Herbology one-"</p><p>"He comes to tell me what he didn't understand!"</p><p>"-or why he goofs around during DADA class."</p><p>"Well, you're not sitting next to him. It's more discreet."</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>"Shut up." Charlie said, ignoring Pauline's snort. She also ignored how hot her cheeks felt as she tapped Luana's shoulder.</p><p>"Hm?" Luana said as she turned to look at her.</p><p>"Come on, we've got Potions next."</p><p>+++</p><p>Potions was, as usual, boring to Charlie. Today, for some reason, Professor Slughorn wasn't even teacher something new; he was just talking about all the potions they had learned so far.</p><p>Apparently, he found it necessary since some students kept forgetting the essentials of said potions.</p><p>Charlie decided to look around. Next to her, Valentina Amory was doing all she can to write everything Slughorn said. On the other side, Pauline was tapping her finger and Luana stared at her parchment while frowning.</p><p>The Ravenclaw boys ahead seemed to be all talking, and Charlie was glad to see Rory in a conversation with a dark-haired boy. Sure, he looked a bit uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't being left out.</p><p>Even the Hufflepuffs seemed done with the class. From her place, Charlie could see Dorcas Meadowes, Lily's friend, talking to some Hufflepuff boy. Behind her, two Hufflepuff girls seemed to be goofing off.</p><p>Charlie sighed. There wasn't even anything that interesting to look at. She decided to simply count the seconds until the end of the class.</p><p>She was up to 1158 seconds when the class finally ended. The noise of her classmates packing up seemed to wake her up from her trance.</p><p>"Finally." She heard Pauline say. "I mean, explain why do a class like this when we're already behind schedule? It would be much simpler if he just held private lessons to those who need them."</p><p>"Sadly, this isn't Beauxbâtons, Line. I mean, if I was a teacher, I wouldn't want to have to teach more than what I already do."</p><p>Pauline scowled. "That's why you should never go to teaching. Honestly what kind-"</p><p>Someone cleared their throat. Charlie raised her gaze to the boy standing nervously before them.</p><p>She realised it was the same boy who had been talking to Rory. His brown hair was cut short. He had brown eyes and looked as if he was going to sick at any moment.</p><p>"Hi." He said. His hand seemed to be playing with the ends of his robes.</p><p>"Hello?" Charlie asked.</p><p>He smiled nervously at her and nodded. He turned his gaze next to her- to Pauline.</p><p>"My name's Albert Dunfield." He said, blinking a lot.</p><p>Pauline nodded slowly and Charlie could see a small blush on her cheeks- she still wasn't that used to talking to strangers, after all. Still, she managed to speak back without stumbling for words like she did when they first met.</p><p>"Hello. I'm Pauli-"</p><p>"I know." The boy said quickly. His eyes widen. "I mean- not in a creepy way or anything, I just- remembered when you guys came to school first."</p><p>"Right." She said, urging the boy to continue.</p><p>Charlie shared a look with Luana. It seemed that both had a feeling where this was going.</p><p>"Uh, I was just wondering- if you wanted of course- maybe if you'd like to come with me to Hogsmeade?" He said, looking even greener than before.</p><p>Pauline blinked.</p><p>"What?" She asked.</p><p>"I mean. If you don't want to, it's fine. Totally fine." He said just as quickly.</p><p>"Uh..." She trailed looking at Charlie.</p><p>Charlie shrugged her shoulder, signalling that she didn't mind if she went with him. Pauline fixed her stare on the desk, almost glaring at it.</p><p>"Okay." She said after a while. She turned her gaze back to Dunfield. "Yes, I'll go."</p><p>The green tone on Dunfield disappeared as he widened his eyes in surprised.</p><p>"Really?" He asked. Pauline smiled.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Dunfiled grinned so much Charlie was afraid he'd hurt his cheeks.</p><p>"Okay then!" he said as he walked backwards. He accidentally bumped a chair, but quickly recovered.</p><p>"So, we'll meet in the great hall? Maybe at 11am?"</p><p>"Sure. See you then."</p><p>Dunfield smiled once more as he ran to his friends.</p><p>"Oooohh, Line's got a date." Charlie sang. Pauline shoved her and Luana seemed to be smiling a bit.</p><p>"Don't forget to wear good underwear, you never know." She said in a small voice. Pauline turned to Luana, looking shocked.</p><p>"As if!" She shrieked. "You guys are the worst." She groaned, grabbing her satchel, and moving quickly. Both Charlie and Luana easily caught up to her.</p><p>"And a lipstick with a nice taste!"</p><p>"Shut up!"</p><p>+++</p><p>
  <em>Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!</em>
</p><p>Why did he always had to get in troubles like this?</p><p>Honestly, it's not like Henry had planned to get caught snogging. He didn't even plan on snogging! He was just going to ask some cute broad in Slytherin to Hogsmeade and one thing led to another and they both ended up together in a broom closet.</p><p>"Sniff him out, my dear." He heard Filch say. Godric, never had wanting to kick a cat so much in his life.</p><p>He kept climbing the stairs, making sure not to step on the false ones. He was so closed to the Gryffindor common room; he couldn't stop now.</p><p>He ran, and he just about flew up the stairs, finally arriving at the top, next to the portrait of the Fat Lady.</p><p>His stomach dropped. She wasn't there.</p><p>Henry cursed, where had this woman gone to now?! He could already hear Filch's stupid cat meowing, so they couldn't be too far behind.</p><p>Panicking, he turned to another corridor. And then another and another. He flew down some stairs and turned yet again another corridor.</p><p>He made sure that even he had no fucking idea where he was going, so that Filch would get confused.</p><p>He could already feel himself getting tired. He needed to find a place to sit down as he regulated his breath.</p><p>Luckily, he found just that. In the desert corridor, was a door. On the door, Henry noticed that it was an old classroom used for Alchemy. He grinned and walked in.</p><p>He kept his back to the class as he pressed his face to the door. He kept quiet and tried to hear anything in the corridor.</p><p>The room was dark so no one could see his shadow if they passed by. He heard some steps outside the room. He heard the little bell around the bloody cat's neck get farther away.</p><p>Only when he didn't hear anymore steps, or the soft jingle of the bell, did he breathe in relief. He closed his eyes as he allowed himself to breathe freely now.</p><p>"Is he gone?"</p><p>Henry's head banged against the doorknob as he jumped in surprised. He also shrieked but he'd rather not remember that.</p><p>Quickly he turned behind.</p><p>"What was that for?" He whispered-shouted. "I almost had a heart attack!" His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here, anyway?" He whispered asked.</p><p>Luana's eyebrow quirked. Even with the low light, Henry could see her face. Her eyes were puffy and red. At least her face had filled out a bit more since the last time he saw her.</p><p>"What are <em>you </em>doing here?" she whispered back. "You're closest to the Ravenclaw common room than the Gryffindor by now."</p><p>Closest to the Ravenclaw common room? Godric, how much had he ran?</p><p>"Am I now?" He asked absently. "I tried to get to my common room, but the Fat Lady was gone."</p><p>"Hm." Luana said. She wasn't looking into his eyes.</p><p>"I'm glad I caught you though." She continued. "I wanted to... I wanted to thank you."</p><p>Her eyes snapped back to his. She looked weirdly vulnerable. As if she was allowing him to truly see how she felt. It was a weird look on her. She always seemed so guarded.</p><p>"For what?"</p><p>"For the other day."</p><p>"Ah." He simply said. He decided to sit, leaning against the wall. "Don't mention it."</p><p>"Don't be like that. We both know you didn't have to. Plus I was so mean to you-"</p><p>"Well of course I had to." He said, looking her dead in the eyes. "It's what friends do for each other."</p><p>She smiled, a small smile. It didn't reach her eyes or even make them shine, but it was a start.</p><p>He smiled back and tapped her forearm.</p><p>"What you're doing here anyway?"</p><p>Her smile fell. Henry felt a bit guilty about it.</p><p>"Oh. I was just..." She trailed, looking to the corner she was before. She sighed. "Come on. I'll show you."</p><p>She got up and Henry followed her. She grabbed her wand and muttered a spell. The small, tall candle lit up.</p><p>Henry looked back to the door. They were far away from it, so the small light from the candle wouldn't alert people to their presence. Smart.</p><p>Luana sat down and Henry looked back to her again. On the floor, were a few muggle pictures, both in black and white and in colours. There were also a few used tissues, but he ignored that.</p><p>He sat down, making sure not to sit on any pictures.</p><p>Luana sniffled and grabbed a few.</p><p>"I don't like looking at these in the dorm. I'm not that good with silencing charms and I don't want them to get worried." She paused, looking at the picture in her hands. "It still hurts so much. But I'm trying. You were right. It's time I live in reality."</p><p>Henry wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to say that it was okay. That those things took time. But on the other hand, he wanted to say he wasn't the right person to talk to when it come to loosing someone. After all, he never had.</p><p>Instead he grabbed a picture. It was black and white; the ends were wavy and it reminded him of those old picture of Grandpa Mark. In the picture, there was a woman, but he couldn't see her face as she was leaning over to put a hat on a blond toddler. The boy next to her, had dark hair and a big grin.</p><p>"That's my dad." She said, pointing at the dark-haired boy. "And that's my uncle and Grandma."</p><p>Henry felt a strange pang in his heart. He wondered if somewhere, there were pictures like these of his own father. Did he have dark hair or light one? Was he tanned like Henry or as pale as his mum?</p><p>He shook his thoughts away. It didn't matter. The fucker left them, and Henry refused to waste more time thinking of him. He didn't deserve the simple thought.</p><p>Henry grabbed another picture. It was in colours this time. It was a family on a small hill, a table behind them with a few people on it. A man dressed in a simple shirt and some mended trousers had his arm around a pale woman, who's straight hair reached her shoulders. She had a hat on and a dress. Beside her, was a boy, probably 12, dressed similar to his father. The boy had dark hair and eyes. And next to him-</p><p>"Is that you?" Henry asked, pointing at the little girl in the picture.</p><p>The girl was around 5 or 6, Henry guessed. She was on a flowery dress, that was dirty at the ends. Her hair was also messy, but in a way that suggested that once it was held on by clips. There was a bit of dirt on her cheek.</p><p>"yeah..." Luana trailed.</p><p>"I can see you were a bit of a hyper child." He mused. Luana chuckled.</p><p>"Okay now, that's enough."</p><p>"No, no wait I want to see more." He said, grabbing a picture from the ground.</p><p>It was a wedding photo. Both Luana's parents were dressed modestly but looked great.</p><p>"Your mum's pretty." He said.</p><p>"Thanks. I guess." She paused. "Henry?"</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"Can I ask you something?" She said, gently removing the photo from his hands.</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"When your dad died, how did you deal with it?"</p><p>Henry stiffened. He had thought Charlie had told something about his life to her friends but found himself thankful that she didn't. Still, it wouldn't have led to this awkward moment.</p><p>His hands curled to fists, but he kept his voice levelled.</p><p>"He didn't. Well, I don't think he did. I never met him. He left before I was born."</p><p>Luana blinked. "Oh. I'm so sorry, I just thought-"</p><p>"It's fine." He smiled. "You didn't know. Plus, it's a dead matter. He left when he found out mum was pregnant. Didn't want any kids I'm guessing. As far as he concerned, he doesn't have any."</p><p>"Well, I know it doesn't matter now," She said, looking at him with those fierce eyes that took him back to that afternoon in November. "But he's an asshole for not wanting you- You're a great person, Henry."</p><p>He smiled, trying not to show how much that had affected him.</p><p>"Thanks Lu. You're pretty great yourself."</p><p>She smiled again, a bit bigger this time. He grabbed another picture from the ground.</p><p>"Oh my! Are those overalls?" He laughed as he pointed at a younger Luana. She whined and tried to take the picture of his hands.</p><p>"Shut up!"</p><p>"And those pigtails-"</p><p>"Stop laughing!"</p><p>+++</p><p>"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Charlie asked Luana as she tied her boots. Luana nodded.</p><p>"Don't really feel like third-wheeling you and Rory." She said. Charlie frowned. She didn't like to leave Luana alone since she knew she'd most likely just cry and looked at old pictures. Charlie preferred if she had someone around, in case of anything happening.</p><p>But on the other hand, she felt relieved- she hated that she felt it, but it was stronger than her. She hadn't been alone with just Luana yet and the air between them was still awkward. After all, even if Charlie had said she forgave Luana, she wasn't sure if her heart received the message- it still panged her a bit being near her best friend.</p><p>Maybe it was for the best if it was just her and Rory.</p><p>"Alright then." She eventually said. She turned her gaze to Pauline, who was brushing her hair.</p><p>"How about you Miss date? Are you to go see Dunfield?" Charlie wiggled her eyebrows as Pauline sighed.</p><p>"It's not that big of a deal." She said.</p><p>"Yes, it is! It's your first date!"</p><p>"So?" Pauline asked, but Charlie could see she was nervous. Her hands shook a little as she moved on to applying her lipstick.</p><p>"So...it's a big deal. But fine- if you want, I'll drop it." Charlie paused as she jumped on Pauline's bed. "But if anything happens you can always come to us and we'll bail you out."</p><p>Pauline smiled. "Thanks Charlie."</p><p>"You guys better leave," Luana said while looking at her watch. "You're going to be late."</p><p>+++</p><p>"Is this really necessary?" Charlie heard Rory ask. She turned to him.</p><p>"Of course, it is."</p><p>"So, are we just going to spy on Pauline's date all day?"</p><p>"No, just let me make sure she's okay. Promise."</p><p>Charlie ignored Rory as she watched Pauline walked to the Three Broomsticks with Dunfield. He opened the door for her. She smiled.</p><p>Charlie too, was smiling. She was glad to see that Dunfield was apparently a decent bloke and not some creep. Pauline seemed happy and safe, and that was enough for Charlie.</p><p>"Right then," She said, turning to Rory as she grinned, "Shall we go?"</p><p>She grabbed his arm, not waiting for his response- She was planning on going everywhere she needed and still have some unplanned fun, but for that she'd need to hurry.</p><p>"Where are we going?"</p><p>"I need some new quills." She simply said.</p><p>She didn't need to drag him long. Soon enough Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop appeared on her sight.</p><p>She quickly entered, welcoming the warm feeling of the shop. Already knowing what she wanted, she quickly made her way to the coloured quills. If she could, she'd always seize the change to get a quill in her favourite tones.</p><p>"Charlie?" Rory asked.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"Don't you...find this a bit weird?"</p><p>"What?" she asked, turning to him, "The shop? I mean I did find it odd that a shop sells pretty much just quills, but if the manager get's to pay his bill then-"</p><p>"No, I mean- us, being here. Alone. On Valentine's day."</p><p>"Oh." She simply said, blinking. "Not really." She turned back to the quills.</p><p>Normally she'd choose a green mint, but the navy blue was weirdly speaking to her-</p><p>"Really?" Rory asked. After throwing him a look, Charlie noted that he looked fairly surprised.</p><p>"Yes. Do you?"</p><p>"No! not at all, it's just- well, people might assume-"</p><p>"Then let them." She interrupted. "We both know the truth, don't we? What does it matter what other people think?" She said simply, throwing him a smile.</p><p>Rory huffed. "I wish it could be that simpler."</p><p>"Well , why can't it?"</p><p>" I don't know I- I don't know how you do it. To just...stop caring that easily. No matter what I do or how many times I try to tell myself otherwise- I still find myself wondering what everyone will think. Still find myself unnerved by it. I just can't help it." He shrugged, looking down.</p><p>Charlie's hand went to his forearm and squeezed it.</p><p>"Well then. I can't do much about it. It won't make sense of me to tell you not to look at them-" She paused. What could she even say? She wasn't very good at comforting people. But for some reason it seemed easy with Rory. As if she understood him better than she understood most people. She smiled at him, "-So how about I just tell you to look at me? Whenever you're nervous, don't look at them, just looked at me and signal me in any way and we'll leave."</p><p>Rory smiled.</p><p>"Yeah...okay. Let's." He paused. "You should choose the green one. Matches your eyes." He said.</p><p>Charlie quirked an eyebrow but grabbed the green one anyway.</p><p>"Green one it is then."</p><p>+++</p><p>"How on earth can you eat that?" Rory asked her, his face scrunching. Charlie laughed as she blew a bit of fire from her peppermint imps.</p><p>"Are you kidding? They're super fun! Here, try one-"</p><p>"Oh , Rowena no, I'm good.-"</p><p>"Nonsense." Charlie said, handling him one.</p><p>Rory seemed hesitant about it no doubt, but one look at Charlie's face and he took a bite of it.</p><p>Immediately, his face scrunched up, and Charlie saw him trying to hold the fire down. In fact, he seemed to be trying to swallow it away. Her eyes widened.</p><p>"No, Rory don't do that, let it out-"</p><p>Rory swallowed the fire. Not even a seconds later, it came from his nostrils. He shrieked, and Charlie grabbed her wand.</p><p>"Aguamenti." She said as water shot out of her wand. Sadly, she was never very good at aiming, and ended up drowsing Rory in water.</p><p>His nostrils only had a bit of smoke coming out of it now, and he did seem calmer. Still, Charlie felt so bad.</p><p>"Oh My! I'm so sorry Rory, here let me-" She rambled as she cast a quick drying spell on him.</p><p>"Are you okay?" She asked, her arms rubbing his, hoping to get some warmth in him. After all, being wet outside in the middle of February was no picnic.</p><p>But Rory simply smiled, his brown eyes sparkling in amusement.</p><p>He started to laugh, and in turn, so did Charlie.</p><p>She felt a lightless to it all. She was so glad Rory had come with her. The last month, and especially these last weeks felt like short of a bad dream. She was always anxious or mad or sad. And yet, right now she just felt happy and carefree, being able to walk around Hogsmeade with her friend.</p><p>"Now, now, what's this I see?" She heard behind her. She turned around, and saw Sirius with Peter, heading towards her.</p><p>"Oh, hey guys, what-"</p><p>Sirius interrupted her, holding a hand up.</p><p>"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, looking shocked at her. His eyes seemed even bigger than normal with the action.</p><p>"What?" She asked, confused. She could see Peter fidgeting.</p><p>Sirius moved his finger between her and Rory. Looking back at Rory, she realised how close she was to him now, and with a groan she realised <em>why </em>Sirius had come to bother them.</p><p>Honestly, she was sure that by now, even he was over that.</p><p>"Are you serious?" She asked, stepping back from a confused Rory.</p><p>"Yes, actually I am. And so was your cousin when he asked me to look after you-"</p><p>"A joke, I keep telling you-"</p><p>"-Specially in the matters of dates." He quirked an eyebrow to Rory, who seemed to understand by now. He too, took a step back from Charlie, raising his hands.</p><p>"Hey now, this isn't a date-"</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure you have some convenient story already in the makes, Cauthorn." He turned to Charlie. "Does your cousin know you're here?"</p><p>"Why should he?"</p><p>"Why should- Are you serious?" He sputtered loudly. Charlie realised that he was attracting some attention. She could feel her cheeks burning with the weight of the unfamiliar gazes.</p><p>"Sirius-" She said but he interrupted her.</p><p>" He's trying to look after you and you ask me why should he know?" He said even louder.</p><p>"Sirius-" She warned, looking around embarrassed.</p><p>"Do you know how ungrateful that is? To have such a nice guy as family, looking after you and to just throw it away? All to go on a date with this idiot? You must not be right in the head right now-"</p><p>"Sirius!" She yelled. "Shut up already! Honestly are you that crazy about my cousin that you can't even see a joke when it's thrown your way?" She snapped. Lowering her voice, she continued, "Or how much you're embarrassing not just me but yourself?"</p><p>Finally, Sirius looked around, noticing the people.</p><p>"I'm not on a date, and even if I was, it would be none of your business! Honestly if you're just going to be like these all the time, then don't even bother to talk to me again." She snapped again, hastily grabbing Rory's arm and stalking to the opposite direction.</p><p>A bit away she stopped and turned to Sirius, who still stood there. "And Rory's not an idiot!" She yelled.</p><p>+++</p><p>Charlie stormed into her dorm, ready to grab her pillow and punch it. How dare he? Merlin, Charlie knew Sirius was crazy about Henry, but she didn't actually think he'd take his silly words to heart. Did he really had to ruin a nice moment between two friends? Did he really had to embarrass her in front of half the school like that?</p><p>Charlie screamed into her pillow. She vaguely heard the sound of curtains being pulled and felt herself stiffen.</p><p>"Hey." She heard Luana say in a weak tone. She most likely had been sleeping. "You okay?"</p><p><em>No</em>, Charlie thought, <em>I really am not</em>.</p><p>She took two deep breaths, and with her back turn to Luana she nodded her head.</p><p>"Yeah, just a bit annoyed."</p><p>She thought of drawing her curtains, but she knew she'd never actually manage to sit on her bed with her muddy boots. She sat on her bed and started to take them off as she heard Luana getting up.</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>"Yes." She replied, her annoyance returning as she harshly tugged on her boots. Couldn't Luana just leave it be?</p><p>"You don't seem fine."</p><p>"Well, I am" She replied, managing to rip her boot of her feet.</p><p>"Charlie, c'mon I know you better than that."</p><p>"Luana, not now."</p><p>"Why won't you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help-"</p><p>"For fucks sake, just stop!" Charlie snapped. "I said I don't want to talk about it, so leave it be."</p><p>"I know, I just..." Luana trailed, her voice small. " I thought I could help."</p><p>Charlie laughed bitterly as she ripped the other boot of her foot. "Yea? So you can throw it in my face later?" She snapped. Immediately, Charlie wanted to take it back.</p><p>She turned to look at Luana, who was frozen where she was, her eyes raw with emotion. Charlie felt like throwing herself of the window. Luana was still hurt from her father's death, she had asked for forgiveness and Charlie had told her she forgave her. Bringing it up was just a dick move, one so similar to the one she still condemned Luana for.</p><p>"Lu... I didn't-"</p><p>"You said you forgave me." She replied, her voice small and filled with hurt. Charlie felt like she was stabbed on the chest. "Why did you lie? If you still need time that's fine just-" Luana suddenly stopped, clearly having no idea what to say. She simply looked at Charlie, hoping she understood what Luana couldn't put to words.</p><p>And by Merlin, she did. She really did and she's so, so sorry.</p><p>She takes a deep breath, and decided to just, let it all spill. It's no use to pretend it's all okay when it clearly isn't.</p><p>"I'm sorry. I really am. I thought I could- I thought I was over it. But- Merlin it hurt at the time and... I'm still not sure if I can trust you again. not so soon at least. I'm sorry for what I said. I let my anger towards Sirius get to me and attack you. I forgave you and I mean it. It just...might take some time for everything to be as it was." She said.</p><p>Luana nodded, looking down.</p><p>"It's fine, I get it. I'd be the same in your place. I just-" Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. "I don't want you guys to treat me as if I'm made of glass or as if I'll break if you get mad at me. If I cry, I cry; I just don't want you guys to hide how you're feeling just because of what happened."</p><p>Charlie nodded. "Alright. Yeah, you're right. we won't."</p><p>Luana smiled. It was small and contrasted weirdly with her puffy eyes, but it was very much welcomed.</p><p>"So uh," She said, "What did Sirius do?" She asked.</p><p>Charlie groaned and threw herself in the bed, ready to rant. She simply kept to the events, keeping what she felt about it to herself for now. Luana heard and made little comments, and for a split second, it all felt like it did before.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 13- 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Charlie was surprised with how well her day was going. She managed to sleep in without being awaken by some odd noise in the dorm; during lunch they served one of her favourite desserts; and everything seemed way better with Luana. There wasn't an awkwardness between them anymore, just the founding ground to their new trust. Merlin, she was even finding her Astronomy homework easy.</p><p>In fact, things were going so well, that she knew something was about to go wrong. It just had to. </p><p>She glanced out of the window of the library as she thought about what it could be. She didn't want to sound like a pessimist but life in Hogwarts was never this easy.</p><p>She jumped as she heard the door of the library bang and turned to look; ready to absolutely scold the person to next week.</p><p>She could feel herself getting annoyed once more as she watched who banged the door. Looks like she found what ruined her day.</p><p>Sirius walked in, ignorant to all the glares for the noise he made. He seemed to be looking for something. And Charlie had a gut feeling she was it.</p><p>She scowled and turned her gaze to her astronomy homework. She starred at last question, her brows furrowing.</p><p>
  <em>5- What impact did the Astronomy of the medieval Islamic World had in European and Asian Astronomy?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>WHAT?</em>
</p><p>Charlie sighed as she restrained herself from banging her head in the table. Of course, that it was now that the homework ventured to some topic she barely remembered. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to remember that Rory had told her in November, in one of their first tutoring sessions.</p><p>She knew it had something to do with the loss of knowledge in Europe... But why was there a loss of knowledge?</p><p>A clear of throat interrupted her. She could feel her annoyance spike. Having two annoyances at the same time really wasn't was she needed right now.</p><p>"What?" She snapped, still not looking up. She felt like she was so close to it. Logically, it was safe to assume that the lost of information had to do with how medieval Europe was structured, after all, during that time barely anything was discovered. Maybe-</p><p>"Charlie?" She heard Sirius say. Her eyes snapped to him.</p><p>"What?" She snapped once again. Honestly, did he had to do this now? Charlie looked him up and down. His hair made some weird bangs over his eyes. Charlie always find it odd how big his eyes always looked; like his face hasn't caught up with them yet.</p><p>He was biting his lip a bit, his hands messing the ends of his shirt.</p><p>"Can I sit?" He asked. Charlie sighed loudly but eventually nodded.</p><p>He quickly sat down. He stood there for a few moments, his mouth opening up and his hands moving but nothing came of it.</p><p>At first it was funny; It was hard to catch Sirius so off guard for so long. But after a while it just became annoying; she wanted to finish her homework before dinner and if he continued like this she would never leave.</p><p>"Just spit it out already, will you?"</p><p>
  <em>He closed his mouth and sighed.</em>
</p><p>"I'm sorry." He blurted. " You're right. I didn't realise-" He stopped. "I never meant to make you angry. Really. I just- I don't even know. Remus said I have a weird need to be liked by your cousin because I look up to him and such. I wouldn't go <em>that </em>far, but I can see his point. I mean- Never mind, I'm going off topic." He rambled. He looked at her in the eyes, and Charlie thought the serious look in them didn't suit him.</p><p>"I'm sorry. I never wanted to embarrass you. You're right, it was most likely a joke and I might have taken it a bit far. You have every right to be mad at me. But also, could you forgive me?" He asked. There was an impish some-what grin in his face, as if begging to be forgiven.</p><p>Charlie sighed. "I'm still very crossed with you." She said. Sirius nodded as a more mature look to over his face. Once again, Charlie noted that he looked weird like that. She much rather see him smile. She sighed once more. "But yes, I'll forgive you."</p><p>Sirius blinked. "Really?"</p><p>"Yes, really. I mean, I'm still very angry at you- But being angry at you is more trouble than I thought." Charlie said lamely. Truth is, she sort off missed Sirius- even if his attention span on Herbology was smaller than her patience. Still, there was something endearing to how annoying he was. She guessed that's why so many girls liked Sirius in their year<em>.</em></p><p>Sirius smiled, looking a bit relieved. Charlie was surprised their fight meant anything to him- after all she was sure she was just an easy way to a A in Herbology to him. But knowing he saw her as a friend as well made her smile.</p><p>He looked down to her work. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously. He didn't even wait for her to answer as he snatched her parchment. Charlie sighed, already feeling like banging her head on the table with Sirius' behaviours. Maybe she exaggerated how endearing they truly were.</p><p>"Hmm." He hummed. His gaze turned to her once more and Charlie was glad to see a spark of mischief in hid eyes. The 'troublemaker' look was better on him than the serious one. "Want some help?" he asked as he quirked an eyebrow.</p><p>"Yes, please." Charlie begged. Sirius chuckled and gave her the parchment.</p><p>"I'm not as good as Cauthorn in Astronomy, but I know the basics. Now, let's see..."</p><p>
  <em>+++</em>
</p><p>"He asked that?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p><em>"</em>And... you said yes?" Charlie asked as Pauline glared at her.</p><p><em>"</em>It's a perfectly good way for the two of us to know each other a bit better." She defended. Charlie quirked an eyebrow as Pauline's gaze turned once again to the stairs for the boy's dormitories.</p><p>"It's a bit dull, wouldn't you say?"</p><p>Pauline huff. "I think it's nice. Especially with the amount of work we've been having lately."</p><p><em>"</em>I don't know if there's anything in just studying side by side, but you guys have fun." Charlie replied sarcastically. If a boy ever invited to a date that resumed to studying together in the common room, she was sure she'd slap him. Merlin, she'd rather just go into the forbidden forest.</p><p>"Thank you." Pauline said, once again reorganising her books. Since it was the third time she did that, Charlie guessed she was a bit nervous. Finally, Dunfield descended the boy's stairs, while trying to smell his breath.</p><p>Charlie has to bite her lip in order not to laugh at the two idiots in front of her. Something so simple as 'studying' and yet here they were, overthinking everything. Maybe they'd be a nice couple after all.</p><p>Once he saw them, he grinned (and accidentally hit a first year as he lifted his hand to greet them). Looking to her side, Charlie could see Pauline grinning back.</p><p>Dunfield nodded his head at her, and she did the same.</p><p>"Well then," Charlie said, as she got up from her place in the table. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it. Have fun!" She smiled, utterly confused how voluntarily studying could be fun.</p><p>Dunfield grinned, "Thanks!" He said, quickly taking her place, right next to Pauline, who was blushing a bit.</p><p>Charlie chuckled and went to the dormitory. She did have some transfiguration and charms homework to get to, but first she decided she'd read a bit. She hadn't been able to read as much since the Christmas break, and right now any excuse to procrastinate sounded wonderful.</p><p>She opened the door as silently as she could as to not wake up Luana, and quietly made her way to her desk.</p><p>She grabbed her book, and turned to head to her bed, when she heard a sniff. Immediately, her gaze turned to Luana's bed. Her curtains were pulled so she couldn't see if she was awake or not. After all, it could be a sick sniff, one she normally did in the Winter.</p><p>A few moments again, she heard another sniff, followed by a small hiccup. Charlie frowned as she made her way to Luana's bed.</p><p>"Lu? Are you okay?" She asked in a soft tone.</p><p>She heard a bang and a groan of pain, followed by some more sniffles. A few moments later, Luana's head was peeking through the curtains.</p><p>Her hair was the expected mess for someone who'd been in bed all day, and her eyes were red and puffy. Even from here, Charlie could see the trail of tears.</p><p>"I thought you were downstairs." She said. Charlie sighed. Something in her told her Luana was hoping to be able to suffer alone.</p><p><em>"</em>Well, Pauline's on a date so I came back." She paused. "Lu, are you okay?" She repeated.</p><p>Immediately Luana nodded, as if Charlie couldn't clearly see she wasn't.</p><p>"Yea, yeah, I just- had a nightmare." She said.</p><p>Charlie nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"</p><p>Luana opened her mouth, but paused. She looked down and frowned. Finally, she nodded, and opened the curtain so Charlie could get in.</p><p>Charlie quickly took off her shoes and climb in bed. Luana scooted to the end of the bed. She was still under her covers. Charlie laid parallel to her, so she could look her face to face. She knew that to Luana it might not work as well, but she found that normally people had more difficulty lying to someone if they had to look the person in the eyes.</p><p>They stayed in silence for a while, as Luana locked her gaze on her cover.</p><p>" I don't remember all of it- but I remember the end." She finally said. "I was in the cemetery where my dad was buried. I was looking at his grave. And then-" She shuddered. "Some blokes came in and put me in a coffin. A glass one, I could see everything. Suddenly, there was a grave dug up next to my dad's and- " She squeezed her eyes shut. She took a shaggy breath.</p><p>"And they threw me in it. They didn't hear me scream at them to stop. Or maybe they did and just didn't care. It was suffocating- to see them throw dirt on top the coffin, it was like I was suddenly aware of how little space I really had. And then- I looked to my left. It was like the dirt was invisible. Like, I knew It was there, but I couldn't see it. But I could see my dad's coffin. It was also glass and I could see him alive there as well. Struggling like me. I think that's when I woke up." She finished.</p><p><em>"</em>That's- Are you okay?" Charlie said, immediately realising that, of course she wasn't.</p><p>But Luana simply shrugged her shoulders, still looking down. She sighed and continued.</p><p>"It's not the first time. Well, of this one, it is. Normally I'm standing over his grave and he jumps out of it. Or we're at home and he starts to choke in front of me. Or once, we were in a field of wheat, like a really long one- can't see anything for miles type of long- ready to reap it; and he disappears. And no matter how much I shout or run, I'm still alone there."</p><p>Charlie simply looked at Luana. She couldn't even begin to think of what to say. Luana looked so small, not serious, but small like a small child crawling into their parents' bed after a bad dream.</p><p>She opened her arms, and Luana came close. The two hugged in silence for a while. Subconsciously, Charlie started to softly rub Luana's arm. She could feel her shoulders shake as she started to silently cry once more. In that moment, Charlie wondered how many times Luana had done this- woken from a nightmare and cried silently in her bed. She wondered how many times she passed by her bed, thinking Luana was asleep, when instead she was crying her eyes out. Without ever telling them.</p><p>She hated to think that, even now, Luana would try to just suffer silently instead of waking them up. She was just glad she opened up right now. She was opening up to Charlie, showing a vulnerable side she would normally never dare to. Showing she trusted Charlie with her like this.</p><p>In the worst of moments, Charlie felt glad about it. She recalled those years in Beauxbâtons, when Luana would keep as much shut in as possible. She was glad to see her trust her as much as she once trusted. As much as she was beginning to trust again.</p><p>And then of course, Charlie wanted to beat herself to be thinking about this as Luana cried in her arms.</p><p class="">
  <span class="">"Why can't I let it go?" Luana sobbed. Charlie tightened her hold on Luana. "It's been almost 2 months and I- I still have nightmares about it. About him." She shaggily breathed in. "Why can't I let him go?" She breathed out, her voice small and cracking.</span>
</p><p>"He's your dad, of course you'll always want him to be around." Charlie tried. "And, I don't know, maybe it never gets easier. I mean, it's been almost 2 years and I still miss my Grandma every day. I know it's not the same- It can't even compare- but what I mean is... I don't think it get's that easier. You just...learn to live around it, I guess. You'll miss him, always. But slowly, you'll learn how to live again too. You learn how to live without him."</p><p>Luana sniffed. "You know," she started, her fingers playing with the end of her dark blue jumper, " One time, this really bitchy girl put gum in my hair- we had to cut almost all off it. I cried all day and night. By morning, it grew back. I had no idea how back then. Still, when I went to breakfast, my dad was bald- He shaved his head so we could both look ridiculous." She sniffed loudly. "How am I supposed to live without him, Charlie? I know he wasn't perfect, not even close, but he was my dad. And despite everything, I know he loved me above anything else."</p><p>"I'm sorry." Charlie simply said.</p><p>Luana shook her head<em>.</em></p><p><em>"</em>It's not your fault."</p><p>"I know, but-"</p><p>"No but's." Luana said with a tone of finality. "It's my problem, I'll deal with it."</p><p>"Lu." She said, hoping Luana would look at her. She did. "No matter what problem you have, now and forever, it's never just your responsibility. That's what we're here for. I know Pauline and I can never take away the pain you feel right now, nor can we ever replace your father- it's not even our intention- but we're here for you. And if you let us, we won't let you endure it all alone." She said tenderly.</p><p>Luana sniffled, searching Charlie's eyes. A few moments after, she smiled. It was small and had a bittersweet feeling to it, but it was a smile, nevertheless.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>Charlie smiled and kissed Luana's forehead- the same way Luana would do whenever one of them was upset- and hugged her tighter.</p><p>They stayed like that for what felt all afternoon. Eventually, both girls fell asleep.</p><p>
  <em>+++</em>
</p><p>"Honestly I cannot believe this idiot- Of all people, I'd expect this from everyone but Potter." Charlie nodded her head at what Henry was saying, not really paying attention.</p><p>Apparently, James wasn't giving his best lately in training, which Charlie didn't blame him for, since she saw how hardcore the training were. She was surprised some people hadn't revolt yet.</p><p>Still, for some reason, Henry wanted to give James a pep talk that sounded more like threatening. But since he wasn't in the common room or his dorm, now Charlie had to suffer with Henry's rant as he followed her to the library, where she would tutor Sirius<em>.</em></p><p>She couldn't deny that it was good thinking; those two were rarely seen apart. But did he have to do this now? They shared a whole tower; couldn't Henry wait until he arrived?</p><p>Charlie decided to ignore Henry's rant and found that after that decision, arriving to the library was easier.</p><p>Once inside, she found not only James and Sirius, but Remus and Peter. They were all huddle over some parchment in one of the last tables. Charlie's nose wrinkled. She hated this tables, she preferred to tutor close to the windows; but then again maybe this way Sirius wouldn't be as distracted.</p><p>"Potter!" Henry whispered-yelled. All four boys jumped and hastily hid the parchment. Charlie's eyebrow quirked as she saw them throw the parchment in Peter's direction who, in panic, hid it under his bum. Charlie could feel her curiosity spike. Why all this, for a simple piece of parchment?</p><p>James turned around, his eyes enormous. "Ellis!" He whispered in surprised. He turned his gaze to Charlie. "And Ellis."</p><p>Charlie occupied herself by greeting everyone in the table while Henry starred with clear disapproval at James.</p><p><em>"</em>What are you doing? At this rate you'll be late to practice- again!"</p><p>James furrowed his brow and grabbed Sirius' right arm, pulling his robes up. He brow furrowed even deeper once he saw the time on Sirius' watch.</p><p>"The practice is in 2 hours."</p><p>"Exactly!" Henry said. "And you've clearly haven't warmed up yet."</p><p>James sighed, looking down. Sirius cackled and not even a second later Remus slapped him over the head.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Henry. I know I've been shite lately, I'm sure I'll get better in time for the game in a few weeks."</p><p>"You better get better today, Potter!" Henry whispered-yelled. He narrowed his eyes and looked James up and down. "What's wrong with you, anyway?"</p><p>Charlie leaned against a bookshelf as she looked James over; He looked weirdly down.</p><p>Sirius cackled once again and dodged the slap Remus tried to land on him. James didn't respond, just kept his gaze down. In the end, it was Peter who answered.</p><p>"He tried to ask Evans out. She said no."</p><p>Sirius snorted. "She also hexed him."</p><p>Henry quirked an eyebrow. "You're like this...over a girl?" he asked as James nodded.</p><p>Henry scoffed. "Godric, Potter! There's a ton of girls in the school, much less in your year! Just pick another, I'm sure eventually this Evans girl will see what she's missing."</p><p>James whipped his head to Henry had gave him what felt like the most scary glare of all time. Charlie had never seen James like this.</p><p>"Another girl? Pick another?! Evans is one of a kind!" He spit out angrily to Henry. Then, his expression change to one of pure delight. "I think she's my soulmate." He softly declared.</p><p>Sirius once again cackled, but Remus kicked him under the table. Henry too, didn't seem to believe it as he rolled his eyes and scoffed.</p><p><br/>Charlie hated to side with the two morons, but truly, she thought James was wrong. In fact, she pitied James since she was sure Lily would never give him the time of the day.</p><p>She turned to Remus. "How many times had he said this?" She whispered.</p><p><em>"</em>All bloody week."</p><p>"Yikes." She whispered. She turned to the table and spoke a bit loudly. "What are you all doing here, anyway? Don't tell you all need help in Herbology."</p><p><em>"</em>Of course not." Remus said, "We were just providing Sirius with some company."</p><p>"And planning some stupid prank I'm sure." She replied. She did not like the glint in both James and Sirius' eyes as she said this.</p><p>"Stupid, you say? Better take it back Ellis, or you might wake up with some new alterations to your robes."</p><p>Charlie narrowed her eyes. "I dare you to do anything to them. I'll make sure Lily will hear all about it."</p><p>That seemed to shut James up, but sadly not for long. His gaze turned to the chandelier.</p><p>"Talking of, we haven't done anything fun in a while." He muttered. Sirius grinned.</p><p>"We should do something soon. In fact, I know to who. Avery seemed like a big boy talking smack about Peter the other day..." Sirius trailed. "Seems like he needs another lesson."</p><p>James grinned.</p><p>" Perfect! The fearsome foursome will strike hard once more against Avery!"</p><p>Charlie saw Sirius shake his head in disapproval and Remus looked even more exasperated. Only Peter seemed as excited as James<em>. </em></p><p>"Mate, no." Sirius said.</p><p>"How many times do I have to tell you not to call us that?" Remus pointedly asked.</p><p>James pouted.</p><p>"Why not? It's a great name!"</p><p>Remus opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by Henry grabbing James.</p><p><em>"</em>You all can bicker later. Come on, we're going to be late." Henry almost yelled, while dragging James along.</p><p>Ms. Pince passed by at full velocity, ready to scold Henry for yelling.</p><p>"Well, we better go as well. If I wanted to see Sirius fail miserably at Herbology, I'd just watch him during classes." Remus stated, getting up. Peter nodded and went with him, waving goodbye to Charlie.</p><p>Charlie waved back and sat down across from Sirius.</p><p>"So," she grinned. "Are you ready to start?"</p><p>Sirius groaned loudly, slumping in his chair.</p><p>"Do we have to?" He complained.</p><p>"Yes, we have to." She smirked. "But at least now we can move on to second year."</p><p>"Oh great." He replied drily. "One more and I'll at least have caught up to my stupidity."</p><p>"Don't be like that." She scolded. "I'll try to make it fun!"</p><p>Sirius snorted, "Good luck."</p><p>Charlie sighed, but got to work. She knew Sirius liked small, extra weird knowledge and that by giving those, and she'd easily keep his attention. And, for the first hour, it seemed to work. She quickly explained slugs and the spell to get rid of them (incedium duo). She noticed his attention waver as she explained all he needed for Fluxweed and it by the time she started to talk about Mandrakes, it was gone.</p><p>"Are those the evil grabby plant?"</p><p><em>"</em>No, that's devil's snare- come on Sirius, I told you that one last week."</p><p>"Oh, right. What's this one then?"</p><p>"Mandrake. You know, those awfully noisy baby-like plants you most likely replanted last year?"</p><p>Sirius face turned sour. "Those things? Almost killed me with their cries."</p><p>"Yes well- they<em>can </em>kill with their cries, actually. That's why re-potting them is best as children and by professionals. They're normally used for medicinal purposes. For example, they're great for unpetrifying someone."</p><p>"Right." He said, while tapping his quill.</p><p class="">
  <span class="">"Here." She handed him a small list. "These are the best ways to identifying a mandrake- I can guarantee professor Hatman will ask about him, he has a weird obsession with them."</span>
</p><p class="">
  <span class="">"I've noticed."</span>
</p><p><em>"</em>Also, they can also be known by Mandagora."</p><p>Sirius sighed.</p><p><em>"</em>Anything else I should know about them?"</p><p>"Well, I hardly believe Hatman will ask about in this year's exam, but if he does, mention all that. Oh! And that the leaf is an important step in the process to become an Animagus."</p><p><em>"</em>What?" Sirius asked. Charlie glanced at him quickly. His eyes were huge, and he seemed to be on the edge of his seat. Turns out, that little bit of information seemed keep him concentrated.</p><p>"How do you know?" He asked. Charlie groaned.</p><p>"Hatman told me. Honestly, you ask that man one tiny question about mandrakes and he gives you his life story."</p><p><em>"</em>What do you mean?"</p><p>"Apparently, Hatman's dad became an Animagus, and showed and thought most of the procedure to him. In Fact, that got his dad landed on Azkaban for a while but Hatman clearly doesn't care as he started to ramble about it all. Merlin, if anyone heard that man speak, he too would go to Azkaban."</p><p>"Really?" Sirius asked. His hand went to his chin and started to lightly scratch it. "Why, thanks Charlie. You know, I really liked this tutoring session. A true eye opener if you ask me." He grinned.</p><p>Charlie perked up. "Oh, great! It's finally good to start seeing you enjoy herbology." She replied<em>.</em></p><p>Sirius grinned at her, a mad glint in his eyes. "Oh," He said, "You have no idea." </p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 14- 𝑀𝑟. 𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In honour of Luana's birthday, here's an update! Right now, my life is a bit too complicated to say if updates will come, and if they'll come on a schedule. </p><p>Anyway happy birthday to Luana, meaning she would be... oh my, 61 years old.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Are you sure about this?" He heard Peter ask. "What if Ellis got it wrong? What if he won't say anything?"</p><p>James scoffed and Sirius had to agree. He wasn't the biggest fan of Herbology- it's all just bloody plants- but even he knew what a chatterbox Professor Hatman was. It was no surprise that he and Slughorn were such good friends.</p><p>"Oh please," James answered as Sirius looked to down the hall. "I'm just hoping he says something useful. I swear to Merlin, if I have to hear that story of when he fell down a tree into a pond and almost discovered a new species of algae one more time, I'll ask Peeves to drop a chandelier on me."</p><p>Sirius snorted, as they turned the corner. They quickly arrived at the greenhouses, but now the real question was, in which was Professor Hatman?</p><p>"Well, he likes the third one." Peter tried lamely. Sirius sighed, but with no other real clue, made the path for the greenhouse no3. Suddenly, James stuck his arm on his way, stopping both Peter and Sirius.</p><p>"Wait," He whispered. "Do you guys hear that?" He whispered. They all fell silent and Sirius had to really strain himself to even hear <em>anything.</em></p><p>But after a few seconds, they heard it: faint moans.</p><p>Their eyes widen as they look in between themselves. Sirius could feel himself grin and with a glance to James, he could see he wasn't the only one. They quietly made their way towards the sound.</p><p>The sound was coming from behind Greenhouse no5. Sirius tried to quietly see what it was, or better <em>who </em>it was, and stuck his head from the little wall that kept them hidden.</p><p>Once he saw who it was, he tried not to chuckle loudly. James followed suit in trying to glance, and both boys shared an amused look.</p><p>Behind the Greenhouse no5, stood Bertha Jorkins, who appeared to be trying to suck the face of a Slytherin. The more they look, the more pathetic it looked, since it was painfully clear neither knew exactly what they were doing.</p><p>"I wonder if she had to charm him." James whispered. Sirius grinned.</p><p>"Well then," He started, pulling out his wand. " Better save the poor bloke then."</p><p>As quietly as he could, Sirius casted what he deemed the most appropriate Hex for the moment: The Horn Tongue Hex.</p><p>As the hex hit Jorkins, the results were immediate. Not even a moment later, the boy's eyes widen, and he quickly detached himself from her.</p><p>"What the-" He said, but quickly paled once he saw Jorkins.</p><p>Since her back was to them, Sirius couldn't truly see her, but the enormous sound that came from her, was enough confirmation that it worked; whenever she tried to speak, it sounded only as if she was blowing a horn.</p><p>Jorkins tried to reach for the slytherin boy- Florence, Sirius finally recognized him- but as soon as the sound of a horn being blown left her, Florence stepped back. As they continued this tag game, the three boys howled in laughter.</p><p>They must have been louder than Jorkins' horn blowing, since both turned to them.</p><p>Sirius didn't really feel like serving another detention, so he quickly pushed himself out of the wall, running to some other Greenhouse. James and Peter quickly followed, still cackling.</p><p>They all hid on the front of what seemed like Greenhouse no4. Before they could move, the door opened, and a few 7th years left it. None payed attention to the 3 boys standing around.</p><p>"Perfect!" Sirius heard James say, "They just left the class- We found Hatman."</p><p>Sirius smirked. The three boys tried to make time so all the students could leave. Once they didn't see anyone leave for a while, they entered the class.</p><p>Indeed, Professor Hatman was inside, and seemed to be chatting the ear off of some student.</p><p>Sirius cleared his throat and both men turned to him.</p><p>"Sorry to interrupt Professor, but I was wondering if I could ask you some questions? I just don't seem to understand-"</p><p>"Why, of course!" Professor Hatman immediately answered. He turned to his older student, "As soon as I'm done talking with Roger, of course-"</p><p>"No!" The older boy- Roger- said quickly, "It's fine professor, I'll go right now." He quickly turned away, His eyes found Sirius and he mouthed "Thank you" to him.</p><p>Sirius smirked as the boy quickly left the Greenhouse. He turned to his professor, who had now decided to sit down at his desk.</p><p>"Well then, Mr. Black, what can I help you with?"</p><p>Sirius sat on the chair in front of the professor, James following his suit. Peter, sat in one of the empty stools on the side.</p><p>"Well, Professor, I've been reviewing the second year work, and I can't seemed to remember what Mandrakes do. I ask my friends here, but they all said different things. We decided to come to you, Professor, since there's no one else in this school with better knowledge in Herbology than you, Sir." Sirius answered, his best aristocratical smile in display.</p><p>He truly hated all those awful lessons his mother forced on him, but boy did they come in hand sometimes. Professor Hatman smiled pleasantly and chuckled.</p><p>"Oh, you flatter me, Mr. Black. Truly there isn't much to Mandrakes you see..."</p><p>Sirius was glad he sat down since Professor Hatman ended up ranting for the next hour. He mentioned it all; where both names came from, all the medicinal uses, even mention the crazy run for them Hogwarts did a few decades back when some students were suddenly petrified.</p><p>All of it, surely interesting to someone who loved Herbology, but deadly boring for Sirius. If he wanted to hear an hour long rant about Herbology, he'd go to Charlie. At least she tried to make it fun, even if she failed miserably.</p><p>"You know I, myself even used the mandrakes to un-petrify an entire village on my younger days. All muggles, poor things- they thought the devil had attacked them- but all very nice. Made a big feast and all."</p><p>"Is that it?" James asked, a bored tone Professor Hatman did not catch. Instead, the man smiled, his black eyes sparkling.</p><p>"Well, actually , Mr. Potter, there's one more thing Mandrakes can be use for- not many know about it of course, it's very sensitive information. But, typically is great to write in your OWL's for extra points. The leaf of the Mandrakes, are used for the process of becoming an Animagus."</p><p>Sirius wanted to whoop. <em>Finally! </em>He thought. Instead, he kept his posture, only showing mildly interest.</p><p>"Truly?" He asked.</p><p>"Oh, yes! The entire process in itself is fascinating. My father himself became one- and let me tell you it's no easy feat! It's incredibly dangerous, one wrong move and the wizard can die or became a half animal forever.</p><p>"I still remember my own father having to drink that damned potion. He claimed it tasted worse than anything else he ever tried."</p><p>"Potion?" Sirius asked, as if making polite conversation. They were so close; he could feel it.</p><p>"Oh yes! You see, after the wizard holds a mandrake leaf in his mouth for an entire month, they must insert it in a potion. The potion itself is incredibly complicated, mostly all written in Ancient Runes, if I remember correctly. During the creation of the potion, you must recite a spell- oh my, I can barely remember it anymore- and the potion may only be drunk during a lightning storm." The professor chuckled.</p><p>"Oh, my own father had to wait months for one- but that was by far the only step back. You see, at first, he accidentally swallowed the leaf, so had to start over. Then, after he completed the entire month, the next full moon was cloudy, so he had to held it in his mouth for another month." He chuckled once more.</p><p>"What?" Peter asked.</p><p>"Interesting, isn't it? Yes, the leaf must the left from full moon to full moon- meaning close to a month- and must only leave the mouth on a clear night of full moon. The leaf must be stored in a vial, touched by the moon rays. And that's not all! They must add one of their hairs to the vial and a silver teaspoon of dew that had not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven days! I could be mistaken, but I'm sure that he also added a chrysalis od a Death's-head hawk moth. The mixture had to be put in a quiet, dark place, you see, and I remember my father telling me to not touch it."</p><p>The professor absently checked the clock on the wall, and jumped. "Oh my! Will you look at the time! I've been chatting you for nearly 2 hours!" He exclaimed.</p><p>"Oh that's alright professor, we would actually love to continue-" James tried, but was quickly interrupted.</p><p>"Nonsense, dinner's almost over. Oh! And I promised Horace I'd visit him after dinner- well we must all be off!" He declared, getting up.</p><p>"I must say, Mr. Black, I'm very pleased to see you take more interest in Herbology. I'll be expecting a better grade from now on!" He smiled and them and left the Greenhouse.</p><p>Sirius sighed. Great, now he had to do that as well. He glanced at James, who was pouting.</p><p>"Damn, he had to check his watch <em>now? </em>Half an hour more and he'd most likely would have told us the entire thing!"</p><p>"Well, at least we know how to start." Sirius replied, as they all stretched and left the Greenhouse, making their way to the Great Hall. If they hurried, they still make it in time for dessert.</p><p>"A leaf for a month won't be easy at all! And that bloody potion- he didn't even say the name!"</p><p>"Yes, but I have a feeling I know exactly where's it is."</p><p>"Where?" Peter asked while trying to keep up with the boys.</p><p>"You heard the man. It's an incredibly complicated and dangerous process. People have <em>died </em>while trying," Sirius grinned, "That just screams forbidden section, now doesn't it?"</p><p>James smirked.</p><p>"Well then, time to pay it a little visit."</p><p>+++</p><p>As March started, Henry could feel himself get more stressed.</p><p>Even as if he already knew that he wanted to be a professional quidditch player, the idea of OWL's scared him a bit. Especially after his meeting with McGonagall.</p><p>Henry knew she was right; he couldn't do quidditch forever and when he got too old for it, his OWL's could help him get another job he liked. Plus, there was the war factor. Professor McGonagall did say that, thanks to it, some more <em>traditional </em>teams might be hesitant to sign a muggleborn wizard.</p><p>Henry hated to admit it, but she was right , of course. But the timing couldn't be worse. Professor McGonagall had warned him to step up his grades just before the biggest game of his life. In a week's time, Gryffindor would play again, and if they didn't manage to win, and by <em>a lot</em>, they'd be out of the race for the quidditch cup.</p><p>So, now over the stress of OWL's and quidditch, he also had to find a nice way to shrug off Luana, who had been annoying him all day.</p><p>He was glad to see her in somewhat better spirits; she'd smirk and annoy just like she did before, but by Godric, did it had to <em>him</em> she annoyed?</p><p>He focused his attention back on his Charms homework. Flitwick was clearly trying to kill them with the amount of workload he gave this week. Henry was hoping to finish it all today, not caring if he missed dinner or not, so he could focus on Quidditch plays tomorrow.</p><p>However, the incessant finger tapping Luana was doing was driving him nuts.</p><p>"Can you stop?" He spit out through gritted teeth. She smirked at him, but stopped.</p><p>"Do you really have nothing better to do?" He asked as he furrowed at his question.</p><p>
  <em>What are the two proper ways to cast a Disillusionment charm and what are their differences?</em>
</p><p>Henry sighed. Of course, it was the one charm he skipped class when they learned. He got up and find a book about it and gritted his teeth when he heard Luana get up as well.</p><p>"Of course, I've got something better to do. I got to go to the kitchens. But <em>someone</em> has been avoided telling me all week, so I'm resorting to follow them everywhere."</p><p><br/>Henry rolled his eyes. He had a gut feeling that Luana wanted to go there to get something to drink, so of course he wasn't going to tell her where it was. He knew by experience that the elves kept all type of drinks there. Technically, they were for the professors but he had taken a few before and he knew how easy it was to do so.</p><p>"Well then, can you make yourself useful and find me books on disillusionment charms?"</p><p>"Why? Are you trying to hide from any girl you badly snogged?"</p><p>"Just fucking find them, please." He sighed. Luana chuckled and left quickly.</p><p>Henry sighed in relief. All week long, Luana had followed him if she could. Any moment alone was truly appreciated. Especially since, because she's always around him, he couldn't exactly ask anyone for a snogging session. What a cockblocker.</p><p>Not even a minute later, she came back, skipping, which seemed incredibly dangerous considering she was carrying 3 enormous books. She stopped just before hitting Henry, and grinned at him.</p><p>"Here you go!" She said, handling him the books. Quickly scanning the spines, he saw that, not only were they about the disillusionment Charm, but also about the charms of his next questions. He quirked an eyebrow at her, but she simply winked.</p><p>"Well, did you expect me to just stare at your face for an hour? Come one, while you look for that one, I'll find you the pages that answer your next questions." She replied, grinning as she turned on her heel and skipped to their table.</p><p>Henry smirked slightly. Turns out having Luana around all day long wasn't all bad. Still, of the entire week, why only help now?</p><p>He settled the books close to him and Luana immediately grabbed the top one. As he sat down, he asked,</p><p>"Why are you helping me?"</p><p>She grinned, her gaze finding his, "If you finish early then you have no excuse not to take me to the kitchens. I really need to go today."</p><p>Henry's eyes narrowed.</p><p>"Why today?"</p><p>Luana shrugged her shoulder, her eyes didn't leave the book.</p><p>"Okay, why do you want to go there?"</p><p>"I want to bake a cake." She simply said.</p><p>Henry could feel his eyebrows raise. He never pegged Luana for one who liked baking, there was something about her that made Henry even weary to have her close to any cooking utensils. Much less something that involved an oven or the fire of a stove.</p><p>But, instead of telling her that, he simply said,</p><p>"You bake?" In a surprised tone.</p><p>Her eyes snapped to his, narrowed in a challenge.</p><p>"Yes, I do." She paused, "I'm not <em>great </em>at it, but I do."</p><p><em>That seems about right, </em>Henry thought. Still, he wasn't convinced. But he could <em>not</em> have her following him everywhere for another week. He could barely go to the bathroom in peace.</p><p>"Fine then." He finally said. Her eyes snapped to his again and Henry was pleased to see the usual spark in them. "If you find me the pages I need to answer the next questions, I'll take you there."</p><p>She grinned and went back to work. Henry too, grabbed the book and looked for the answer.</p><p>It took him 15 minutes to find it, but in that time, Luana had already found hers and started to look on the last book. By the time he had written his response, she had found both.</p><p>Thanks to her help, Henry managed to finish in half an hour. He still had 2 questions left, but his head was starting to hurt. Plus, he could always wake up early tomorrow to do them.</p><p>"Alright," He said, "Put these were you found them so we can go."</p><p>Luana grinned widely and grabbed the books. As he finished to put his things in his bag, he heard Ms. Pince yell and a second later, Luana appeared, out of breath.</p><p>"Shall we?" She said, still wheezing. Henry clicked his tongue.</p><p>"Did you really get that winded just for running that little bit?" He asked, getting up. He noticed she didn't have to walk fast to match his long pace. He wasn't surprised since Luana was taller than most girls Henry knew.</p><p><br/>She scowled at him. "Well, not all of us are as obsessed with fitness as you."</p><p>"I'm not fitness obsessed!- I just need to stay in shape for quidditch."</p><p>"Is that what you say to yourself every morning in the mirror, Narcissus?"</p><p>Henry groaned. "Good Godric, can you get any more annoying?" He muttered.</p><p>Luana looked at him. "Yes" she said, in an obvious look in her face, "Very easily."</p><p>Henry sighed, as he descended the stairs. "You're unbelievable." He muttered.</p><p>She laughed "What? Don't like it when I call you Narcissus?"</p><p>"Not particularly."</p><p>"Well neither did I when you kept calling me Sunshine-"</p><p>"Oh! But that's what you are! Said it yourself."</p><p>Luana scowled. "It's like you <em>want </em>me to kick you."</p><p>He smirked.</p><p>"Oh, I know you wouldn't. After all, if you did, then who'd take you to the kitchens, <em>Sunshine?</em>"</p><p>Henry grinned as Luana flipped him off.</p><p>Finally, they arrived at the fruit bowl painting and Henry tickled the pear. The pear giggled and turned into a doorknob. Henry pushed the door, letting Luana go first. <br/><br/></p><p>As he looked at her widen eyes and gaped mouth he remembered the first time he saw the kitchens. It really was something to behold. Elves were everywhere, working between the five huge tables in display, perfect replicas of the tables of the Great Hall. The kitchens were hot, and the air was filled with all type of smells, from grilled fish, to chicken, to the smell of sugary desserts.</p><p>"Holy shit." He heard her whisper in fascination. He snickered.</p><p>"Pretty groovy, right?"</p><p>Before she could respond, a House elf came to them. He had big watery eyes and his ears seemed bigger than most.</p><p>"What can Fezco do for the young Master and Mistress?" He asked.</p><p>Luana looked at him for guidance, and Henry realised she probably never dealt with a House Elf before.</p><p>"Uh," He stared, "Well, Luana here wanted to bake a cake." He said.</p><p>Fezco clapped excitedly.</p><p>"Oh yes! A Cake! Fezco will get one right now for young Mistress-"</p><p>"Wait!" Luana said. Fezco froze.</p><p>"Actually, I wanted to make the cake myself. So, if you could just, tell me where everything is, I'll get on to it. I can even clean everything myself afterwards." She smiled awkwardly.</p><p>Henry cringed; he could already imagine what was going to happen.</p><p>Like clockwork, Fezco started to bawl his eyes out. Luana's eyes widen as she looked between Henry and Fezco.</p><p>"What-"</p><p>"Mistress doesn't want Fezco's help! She'd rather- oh!" He squealed. "Fezco such a bad elf that Mistress would rather do it herself-" He sobbed some more. "Fezco will be freed! Oh!" He shuddered, throwing himself at Luana's feet.</p><p>"Fezco begs! Fezco begs for Young Mistress to give him one more change! Will Mistress let Fezco do his work?" He looked up, his big blue eyes filled with tears.</p><p>Luana turned to Henry, eyes impossible huge.</p><p>"What Luana is trying to say Fezco, is that you're a great elf, and she'll gladly let you clean afterwards." He tried.</p><p>Fezco cried some words of appreciation.</p><p>"Now, can you lead us to the ingredients?"</p><p>Fezco looked up.</p><p>"Master and Mistress don't want Fezco's cake?"</p><p>"Oh, we're sure you make great cakes! We just want to do this one ourselves to, uh- try a new spell we learn." Henry tried lamely.</p><p>Fezco sniffed but nodded. He bowed deeply and showed them where everything was. He told them to call him if they needed anything and left to finish his chores.</p><p>Luana turned to Henry,</p><p>"What the fuck?" She asked nervously. She started to measure some ingredients as Henry sat on the bench.</p><p>"Intense, right?" He asked. "House elves were easily the weirdest thing I ever encounter in Hogwarts."</p><p>"Why did he start to cry like that? Did I offend him?"</p><p>"They like to do chores- Godric knows why- and if you tell them not to do something, they just think you don't like how they do it. They take this work thing a bit too seriously if you ask me."</p><p>Luana snorted, mixing some powders. "Yeah, no shit. I thought he'd cry himself to death."</p><p>Henry hummed, as he watched Luana work. He was pleased that she was actually here to make a cake, and not to drink the elves' stash of booze.</p><p>"Why are you doing this, anyway? The elves would clearly be please to do it."</p><p>Luana pursued her lips as she mixed the liquids with the mixed powders.</p><p>"It has to be me doing it." She simply said.</p><p>It took her 10 minutes to get the mixing ready. She didn't want to bother any house elves, even when Henry told her they loved if she did, and so Henry tried to bake it with some charms.</p><p>It was good practice for OWL's, though he was sure the interior was still liquid. Luana didn't mind. She grabbed the chocolate bar and, under a flame in a jar Henry made, heated it in a pan to make the topping.</p><p>She poured it on her weirdly looking cake, and stared at it.</p><p>In a small voice, she spoke again.</p><p>"It's my dad's birthday," she said. She didn't cry, but there was a sad glint in her eyes. "I used to make him a cake every year. It was shite but he'd fake through it anyway." She chuckled.</p><p>Her gaze met Henry's. "Can you conjure any candles?"</p><p>Could he?</p><p>He could try.</p><p>He tried a few things, but after neither worked, he transfigured a close-by spoon into one. The candle was thick and grey, bigger on top, but Luana smiled nevertheless.</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>She stabbed the cake with it and Henry effortlessly lit it up.</p><p>She said something in a small voice, probably in Portuguese, and blew out the candle. After a few seconds looking at it, she looked at Henry.</p><p>She grinned at him.</p><p>"Are you brave enough to try it?"</p><p>He smirked and nodded.</p><p>She was right, it tasted horrible, but he smiled anyway and said it was the best cake he ever ate.</p><p>After all, it's the effort that counts, right?</p><p>+++</p><p>"Come one, Lu, hurry up!" Pauline yelled.</p><p>Charlie finished tying her shoes and glanced at her watch. The quidditch game would start in 15 minutes and Charlie was sure the stands would be filled by now. Pauline banged at the door again and finally, Luana left.</p><p>"Okay, okay, calm down! I'm ready!"</p><p>"Finally!"</p><p>The three girls made their way quickly to the Quidditch pitch. Sure enough, the pitch was already full. Whenever Slytherin and Gryffindor played together, the stands would fill more than usual.</p><p>As they reached the stairs, Charlie saw the Gryffindor team leave their shower rooms. She stared for a while, Luana and Pauline joining her. Eventually, Henry caught their eyes and they all give him thumbs up.</p><p>He nervously grinned and nodded.</p><p>They made it to the Ravenclaw stands just in time for the quaffle to be thrown.</p><p>"Thank God we left when he did." She heard Luana comment, as she took one of her coats off. "Can't you imagine how upset Henry would have been if we were late?"</p><p>From beside her, Pauline turned to glare at Luana, who didn't seem to notice.</p><p>"Shush!" Charlie snapped, "Watch the game."</p><p>The difference in the Gryffindor team took just about everyone by surprised. All, except Charlie of course.</p><p>The Gryffindors were ruthless, catching and intersecting almost every time. Quickly, Charlie saw Henry's play. The three chasers would all go to the hoops, and would pass the ball between them all, trying to confuse the keeper.</p><p>It worked, since in the first 20 minutes, they had already 50 points. With every goal, the Gryffindor stands would go wild. Even Charlie was getting excited. If they kept this rhythm up, they could easily make the 130 points advantage they needed to pass.</p><p>The Slytherin team was clearly not amused, as they too became more ruthless in trying to keep the quaffle and level the score.</p><p>An hour after, Charlie's throat was hurting from all the cheering she was doing. Gryffindor was 160 points ahead. Way more than what they needed. She screamed way more once she saw Henry grabbing the quaffle and make his way to the hoops. Potter and Jones joined him soon but were quickly stopped; both seekers had seen the snitch.</p><p>Charlie cheered even harder when she saw the Gryffindor seeker, Shafiq, get even closer. He was as fast as lightening, easily catching up with the snitch. Shafiq stretched his hand, centimetres away, he got ready to close it when-</p><p>A bludger came, seemly from no where, and collided with his arm. With the force of the impact, and since he was controlling his broom with only one hand, he swayed to his left a bit and lost a bit of speed.</p><p>But a bit was all the Slytherin seeker needed to swoop in and catch the snitch.</p><p>Even if they technically lost, the Slytherin stands roared. The Gryffindors still clapped and cheered as the team descended.</p><p>Gryffindor ended up winning, but only with an advance of 10 points, nowhere near the 130 they needed to continue in the run for the cup.</p><p>"Come on." Luana muttered.</p><p>They descended the stairs in silence. Charlie really didn't know how Henry would be. Merlin, she didn't even see the true extent of how he was last time; Luana did.</p><p>Charlie saw the team walk out of the Shower rooms, and was glad to see Henry leave with them.</p><p>He seemed sad; his smile didn't reach his eyes. He pursed his lips a lot too. Still, just to see him out was an improvement.</p><p>She nodded to them team, who all nodded to the girls. Pauline, sensing this would be awkward ( like all talks about feelings were if Charlie was in charge) stayed with James, who was excitedly chatting her ear off about many points he scored (and if Pauline saw if Lily noticed).</p><p>Luana too, went to talk with Glaspie, leaving Charlie alone. She reached Henry easily, especially since he seemed to be trying to hang back.</p><p>"Hey." She said. "I'm sorry about-"</p><p>"It's fine." He interrupted, his voice thick. "Like I said, only with a miracle we could make it."</p><p>"Henry-"</p><p>"It's fine. Really." He shrugged. "There's always next year."</p><p>Charlie nodded, "How's Shafiq?" She asked.</p><p>"Madame Hooch already took him to the Hospital Wing. He blamed himself for the result, but I made sure he stopped that. No one here wants to win more than they want everyone okay."</p><p>Charlie nodded, not sure what more to say. Thankfully, she didn't have to, as Luana arrived.</p><p>"Oi!" She said, "You better not be blaming yourself, or I'll have to kick your arse." She said, managing to put Henry in a headlock. She messed his hair and Charlie was pleased to hear him laugh.</p><p>"You? Beat me?" He said, getting himself free. "Please, you'll need a ladder." He smirked.</p><p>Luana feigned offence. "Oi! I'll have you know I'm the tallest girl in my year!" She said, absently following the rest of the team. Henry followed her.</p><p>"Yeah, no wonder, they're <em>Charlie's </em>height! That's like saying you're the best reader in a class full of 6 year-olds!"</p><p>Luana scoffed. "Well, I<em> am </em>the best reader in the class, why wouldn't I brag?"</p><p>"You little-" Henry muttered, poking Luana in the ribs repeatedly. Luana squealed as Henry laughed.</p><p>Charlie stopped watching for awhile, when she noticed Pauline coming her way. She waited for her and the two made their way to the school, trailing after the quidditch team.</p><p>"Just to think," Pauline started, watching Luana and Henry, "A few months back, those two couldn't stand each other. Who would have thought?"</p><p>Charlie glanced back. The two seemed to be goofing around, Henry's arms draped over Luana's shoulders.</p><p>Charlie smiled. She always knew that eventually, they'd be friends. They were too similar not to get along.</p><p>"Yeah, who would have  thought." She grinned. </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 15- 𝘖𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As March ended and April begin, Charlie knew what expected her. It was, after all, tradition to wake the person up on their birthday in the worst way possible. So, on the night of 15th of April, she wore extra thick pyjamas to bed. She also made note of covering her ears with her hands, in case they decided to play the air horn.</p><p>Sadly, it was this exact movement that caused Charlie's downfall, as she was woken up on April 16th with a tickle charm. She shrieked as she tried to tell herself off mentally for leaving her armpits so vulnerable.</p><p>Thankfully, the charm stopped before she fell from her bed, and she turned to glare at Luana, who had her wand out and a massive grin on her face. The wild hair and the mad glint in her eye made Charlie think she looked crazier than usual.</p><p>"I hate you." She simply said. Luana's grinned turned bigger, and Pauline chuckle.</p><p>"Happy Birthday!" They both said, as they jumped in bed with Charlie. Pauline started to drum to the rhythm of "Happy Birthday" on Charlie's stomach and Luana held Charlie in a loose headlock, as she messed her hair. She stayed like that until the girls finished singing.</p><p>Finally, the two girls stopped their annual torment, so they could grab their presents. Charlie grinned as they squeezed themselves under the covers with her. Thankfully, it was still cold enough do to so, since it was one of Charlie's favourite parts.</p><p>The whole thing made her feel like she was 10, on a sleep over with her best friends. That feeling of being childishly free, no matter how old you truly are, always delighted Charlie.</p><p>"Here," Luana said. It was a square box, and by shaking it, Charlie guessed it was some sort of clothing.</p><p>She opened the box, and pulled a cream tennis skirt. She grinned. She had asked for one last year, but her mother had said they were too short. She hugged Luana.</p><p>"Thank you! I love it so much!" She squealed, touching the fabric. It was a bit rougher than the expected, but that meant it would last longer.</p><p>"My grandma made it- she's a seamstress. She was a bit appalled by the order but after I promised her it wasn't for me, she gladly did it."</p><p>Charlie marvelled even more at it. She never had any muggle clothes made especially just for her- even her witch robes are a model that was magically accustomed to her. But this was created for the soul intent of belonging to her. Somehow, it made it even more especial.</p><p>"Okay, now mine!" Pauline squealed, Throwing her present in her lap. Charlie shook it, and turned to Pauline.</p><p>"Did you two really offered me both clothes?"</p><p>Both girls cringed a bit.</p><p>"We should really start planning this things ahead."</p><p>Charlie laughed, and opened the gift. Inside the box, were a new black pair of Mary-Janes, along with a little bag. Opening it, a pair of earrings fell.</p><p>"They're real pearls." Pauline commented, seeing the amazed way Charlie was looking at it.</p><p>"Your parents seriously need to calm down with the gifts." Charlie absently commented.</p><p>"Just wait until my mother's cake arrives." Pauline snorted. From Charlie's left side, Luana hummed.</p><p>"Oh, I hope it's Frasier Cake." She said, starring lovingly at the ceiling. Suddenly, she jolted, "Oh! Speaking of-" she jumped out of bed and went to hers. From under her bed, she pulled a box where she kept most of her candies.</p><p>For the rest of the morning, the three girls munched of Luana's muggle candy.</p><p>+++</p><p>There was nothing Charlie hated more, than to celebrate her birthday on a weekday. Birthdays were always such a big thing in her family, it felt like such an especial moment-after all she was born today- and to celebrate it right before Care of Magical Creatures felt so wrong. Especially since Charlie didn't particularly loved the class; she was just looking for an easy O.</p><p>Still, Charlie sat down at the Ravenclaw table, and glad to see that Maeve wasn't around yet. Last thing she wanted was a repeat of Luana's birthday.</p><p>At that moment, the owls arrived, and Charlie saw Yaris landing close to her. She gave her a bit of bacon, before detaching the enormous parcel she held. Another owl flew to them too, and Charlie recognised it as Pauline's parent's owl. The owl dropped a parcel and flew off, not even waiting for a pet or a treat.</p><p>"I swear, that owl hates me." Pauline muttered.</p><p>The parcel was pushed Charlie's way by an eager Luana. And so, Charlie decided to open Pauline's cake first. She thanked Pauline, and told her to thank her mum for her. She grabbed the small letter Pauline's mum wrote as Luana peered into the cake.</p><p>She snickered. "Hm, Charlotte Russe." She said, taking some fruit from the top. "Your mum sure is funny, Line."</p><p>Pauline sighed. "Don't. She makes that joke all the time. I'm surprised she managed to refrain herself the last two years."</p><p>Charlie snickered and cut the cake. Luana immediately grabbed a piece, casually chatting with Pauline. Charlie took the moment to open her other gifts.</p><p>The parcel her parents sent her contained 2 gifts: Theirs and her grandparents.</p><p>Her grandparent's gifts were simple enough: 8£ and an emerald necklace. It was gorgeous, but Charlie didn't really like how flashy it was. It's not like it was a simple bracelet she could use every day.</p><p>Her parents, however, sent her a few books. Most were fiction, but Charlie saw that her mother managed to sneak in a wizarding one.</p><p>"Good morning Ladies!" Charlie peered from her parcel to see both Henry and Anne sitting down. "And a very good morning to you, Birthday Girl." He smirked.</p><p>Anne tried to hug Charlie over the table, which in retrospect was a bad idea. She still had no idea how her shirt didn't get smudged with food. Henry settled to ruffling her hair, much to Charlie's displeasure.</p><p>"Here." He said, throwing a badly wrapped box to the table. "Mum got it for you. I got no idea what it is."</p><p>Charlie nodded, but glanced at Henry's right side, where Anne was glaring at him.</p><p>"Move you bloody leg." She gritted out. Henry turned to her.</p><p>"Well where am I supposed to put it? I'm squished!"</p><p>"I don't care! Just take it off my lap!"</p><p>Henry sighed and readjusted himself. Not even a second later, Luana, who was on his left side, glared at him.</p><p>"I will pinch you, boy."</p><p>"Oh, come on-"</p><p>The two started to bicker, every now and then with a threat. Charlie focused her gaze on her gift and zoned them out.</p><p>She took the wrapping, and noticed it was a book. She expected as much, books were the go to present Aunt Beatrice always got her.</p><p>It was a collection of fairy tales, all collected by the Grimm Brothers. Charlie smiled; her aunt always did say all the wizard stuff Henry told her sounded like something out of a fairy tale-</p><p>"I swear to God, if you don't take you bloody leg off me-"</p><p>"C'mon now, Sunshine." Henry begged. "Be nice, for Charlie. Don't want to ruin her birthday, now do we?"</p><p>Luana scowled. "Fine. But you're not getting any cake." She replied, grabbing the remaining of Charlie's cake away from Henry's reach. He sighed, and turned to Charlie.</p><p>"Anyway, Happy Birthday."</p><p>+++</p><p>The walk to Care of Magical Creatures was boring. Since the weather was nice, they would be having class outside, and identify exactly what Clabberts eat.</p><p>Still, Charlie kept thinking about Pauline, who had a free period. Lucky bastard.</p><p>"I reckon someone will fall today." She heard Luana say.</p><p>"Why's that?"</p><p>"Well, it rained a few days ago- maybe there's still some mud around. You know how these city blokes are- all prim and proper, can't handle a bit of mud. Christ, do you remember the tantrum Blishwick threw when she accidentally slipped?"</p><p>Charlie chuckled, deciding not to comment as they arrived. She didn't feel like getting on the bad side of Cassia Blishwick, who she was sure could make just about any rumour.</p><p>"Say," Luana started. Charlie hummed. "Did you really like my gift? I mean, I know you wanted one but the material is so-"</p><p>"Are you kidding me? It's amazing!" She turned to Luana. "One of the best birthday gifts I've gotten in a long time." She smiled in reassurance.</p><p>"What?" She heard someone say behind her. Turning around, she found James, Sirius and Peter. She almost had forgotten they shared this class together, since normally the boys would waste it by planning something reckless, since Remus wasn't here to stop them.</p><p>"What are you doing here?"</p><p>"Well," Sirius started, "I came here to show you my amazing grade on the Herbology essay-" He handed her his essay, a big A in it. "-But oh my, what was this I heard?" He said. "It's your birthday?" He asked, a mad grin taking over his face. "Why this calls for a celebration! For your birthday <em>and </em>my amazing grade!"</p><p>"Sirius, an A is barely amazing and I know you can do far much better-"</p><p>Sirius ignored her.</p><p>"Oh, it's a bit last minute, but we'll manage." He said, scratching his chin. "Thank Merlin we still have some fireworks around." He muttered.</p><p>"Oh Merlin- Sirius." Charlie said, grabbing Sirius' attention. "Don't you dare throw a party. And much less using fireworks."</p><p>He pouted.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"If you want to celebrate your grade then that's fine Sirius, but don't pull me into it. I'm really not in the mood for a party."</p><p>He pondered what she said for a few minutes, exchanging glances with James and Peter. Eventually they seemed to reach an agreement.</p><p>"Alright. We won't throw you a party. But don't you think you'll escape next year!"</p><p>Charlie chuckled, "Sure thing James."</p><p>He pouted. "Still, we need to do <em>something</em>- Uh.." He trailed, hand madly searching in his pockets. Eventually he pulled a small piece of ripped parchment.</p><p>"Peter, your quill." He commended. Peter dutifully gave him one, while turning around and holding the ink bottle. James started to write on the parchment, using Peter as a desk.</p><p>Meanwhile, Sirius was looking around in the ground. Eventually, he ripped some fluxweed and went to James' side.</p><p>Charlie looked at Luana, who simply shrugged. They both looked back to the 3 boys who were whispering between themselves.</p><p>Just as they turned around, Professor Kettleburn arrived. The three tried to seem casual in giving Charlie the parchment, but truly, they looked like they were giving her drugs.</p><p>"Here." James whispered. Charlie took the parchment and looked at it as Professor Kettleburn yelled at some kids about being on top of a rock.</p><p>In the small piece of parchment, was a <em>very </em>abstract drawing of who Charlie assumed was her. They made her blond way wavier than it was, and longer, but Charlie thought it made it funnier. Under it, it said, in a barely readable writing:</p><p>
  <em>To the Herbology nut: Happy Birthday! We'll never forget your work to the public.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From your favourite (And most handsome) Gryffindor boys.</em>
</p><p>The fluxweed Sirius grabbed was stuck to the paper. She was sure he had no idea what it was, and simply thought the flower was pretty.</p><p>She turned to James. "Work to the public?" she whispered.</p><p>He leaned to her, as whispered back.</p><p>"Getting Ellis to chill about the work out. And helping Sirius with Herbology."</p><p>"Right." She smiled.</p><p>"Do you like it?"</p><p>"I'll forever cherish it; I especially love your usage of the fluxweed flower. It's one of my favourites, you know."</p><p>James sighed, but he had a smile on his face. "You're such a nerd."</p><p>+++</p><p>It was around one of the morning, when Charlie finally finished her Arythmancy homework. Honestly, <em>why</em> she picked such a hard subject was beyond her- even Remus' company didn't make up for the amount of Homework she had to suffer through every week.</p><p>She yawned and looked around the dorm. Both Pauline and Luana had their curtains draped- sometime any of them do if one of them is working late- but Charlie didn't hear any noise.</p><p>Guessing the girls were already asleep, she quietly tried to change to her pyjamas. Thankfully, she was great at silencing charms.</p><p>She got in bed and closed her eyes. She was dead tired, but still, she couldn't sleep. A smile crawled into her face, as she thought of her day.</p><p>Even if classes were incredibly boring, there was something so nice about it all- The gifts she got, the amazing cake, all the people who wished her a happy birthday. Merlin, even the little note she got from the boys.</p><p>There was a soft tap, and Charlie's eyes snapped open. She looked around, but didn't see anything in the windows and it certainly didn't come from the girls.</p><p>She heard it again, and her gaze snapped to the door. Slowly, Charlie left her bed, struggling a bit in putting her slippers with her thick socks.</p><p>She got to the door, and slowly opened it. On the other side, stood a small first year girl.</p><p>"Yes?" Charlie whispered. The first-year girl sighed, and signalled Charlie to follow her. Charlie frowned, but did so, nevertheless.</p><p>The girl descended into the common, that was empty for the exception of one grinning boy.</p><p>"Rory?" Charlie asked. What on earth did he want at this hour? He had wished her a Happy Birthday during Transfiguration in the morning, so it couldn't be that.</p><p>Rory nodded, clearly excited. He looked at the first year girl, and nodded at her.</p><p>"Thank you, Bones, I owe you one." The girl scoffed and stalked back up the girl's stairs. Charlie turned her gaze to Rory once again.</p><p>"Is everything okay?" She asked. Rory grinned, positively jumping in excitement.</p><p>"It's your birthday." He said. "And I didn't give you a gift." He concluded.</p><p>Charlie quirked an eyebrow, intrigued what type of gift did he had to deliver at one in the morning.</p><p>Rory's grinned widened to the point that it had to hurt.</p><p>"Are you up for an adventure?"</p><p>+++</p><p>Rory's idea of an <em>adventure </em>was trying to sneak into the astronomy tower, on a Tuesday night, without being seen. It was during moments like these that Charlie wished the school gave complementary maps or at least prefect trackers to the students.</p><p>How they made it, Charlie had no idea. It was clearly something short of a miracle, since Merlin knows how many times they almost got caught.</p><p>"Oh my!" She heard Rory whisper as he slowly opened the door. "That was close! A prefect I can deal with- but I'd rather die than to have to try and explain myself to Filch."</p><p>"Please tell me we aren't here for a complementary tutoring lesson, because I don't think I have enough brain cells awake at this point."</p><p>Rory grinned at her, as he led them to the balcony. "Don't worry. Trust me, this will be worth it."</p><p>They got to the balcony, Rory took the enormous, pimp-like, coat he had. He laid it on the floor, and laid on it, keeping himself on the edge so Charlie had space to do so as well.</p><p>It was a tight fit, her arm basically draped over Rory's. A chill crawled up her spine at the cold. If she knew they'd be outside, she would have grabbed a jacket.</p><p>Still, she felt as it was worth it. At this hour, with the castle asleep and no light in at least 100 kilometres' distance, the sky was as clear as Charlie had ever seen.</p><p>It was an amazing sight; she might not enjoy having to name the stars or find ridiculous patterns in them, but gazing at them was an amazing experience. It made Charlie feel so big and yet small at the same time. She wondered if any of those stars were dying as we speak, if any had life, someone starring back. She wondered how many light-years they were away from them. How many millennia's it would take to even see them up close. How much light-years it took, just for their light to reach them. Reach <em>her</em>.</p><p>She sighed, never taking her eyes from the stars. Between schoolwork and living in a city, she never had a true moment to look at the stars at her own pace. She felt as if time froze, like this moment was ethereal.</p><p>"It's beautiful. Thank you, Rory."</p><p>Rory grinned, and glanced at his watch.</p><p>"Thanks, but it's not all, any minute now..." He muttered, his gaze switching between his watch and the night's sky.</p><p>Charlie lock was fixed on a specific star, brighter than the others around- not the brightest by close, but it looked so pretty, glinting like a diamond.</p><p>And then, she saw it. She gasped as she took in the meteor shower. It was so impossibly gorgeous, that Charlie couldn't tear her eyes away from it even if she wanted.</p><p>She greedily tried to watch every single one, while at the same time she tried to simply enjoy the feeling of peace that washed over her. It felt so right. Her, here, next to Rory, watching one of the universe's marvellous natural beauties. She felt so weirdly especial at that moment, like the universe itself wanted her, and only her, to see this.</p><p>But she also knew that she was too small for the universe to pay attention to her. The meteor shower proved it. The universe was busy with something as amazing as this, a million light-years away from her. She was just lucky to be able to witness it.</p><p>These two thoughts, so opposite in nature, gave a weird feeling of reassurance. As if, no matter happened, either being her approaching exams or the war, the universe would continue.</p><p>The meteor shower felt like it went on forever and at the same time that it ended too soon. Charlie felt her spirits go down a bit when he realised it was over. She wanted to see more, she wanted to feel the universe's beauty once more.</p><p>But she knew all good things must end. She got to see it, only her and Rory, as everyone else slept.</p><p>"Wow." She said in a breathless way. It was so hard to turn her eyes away from the night's sky, the stars shinning like nothing had happened. But she did and turned her gaze to Rory.</p><p>Feeling her gaze, he too, looked at her. She absently noticed how nice his dark eyes looked in the night's sky, as if the stars shinning reflected on them.</p><p>She grinned and so did he. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.</p><p>"Thank you." She whispered. He simply grinned and turned his gaze back to the stars. A second later, so did Charlie.</p><p>She knew that they eventually had to leave, to break this little bubble of pure happiness and calmness to head back.</p><p>But for now, she simply focused on the stars, letting their shine hypnotize her to a relaxed state once more.</p><p>+++</p><p>Pauline absolutely <em>hated</em> History.</p><p>Truly, she didn't understand what Luana found so great about it, it's all so dull- filled with dates for just about everything, and people who most likely pretended to be greater than they actually were, and battles for every little thing. I mean, honestly, how was one person supposed to know all this at the top of their head?!</p><p>She sighed through her nose and glanced around. At this hour, the library was empty, since no one liked to spent a Friday afternoon studying. She glanced to the person across from her, and an amused smile took place in her face.</p><p>Albert too, didn't seem to enjoy History. In fact, Pauline was glad she found someone worse at the subject than her. Albert seemed to be physically suffering while trying to memorise everyone in the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards.</p><p>Pauline felt a nice bubbling feeling in her stomach. She had to admit that, at first, she was hesitant about Albert, but over the last 2 months, he really did show how amazing being with him could be.</p><p>He wasn't the best at memorising information, but he was crazy smart. If a topic truly interested him, he could spend an entire hour talking about it. In fact, he had, about muggle technology. He was a muggleborn and the advances in technology truly fascinated him. Once, he spent an entire afternoon explaining to Pauline the inner works of a rocket, and all the small things that took the man to the moon.</p><p>Pauline, who had a great interest for all things muggle, listened with interest and even asked some questions. She noticed he really appreciated that she interacted with his rants.</p><p>She also liked how understanding he was.</p><p>Back when they started to date, Pauline still felt a bit weary of it all- After all, she barely knew Albert. And so, after explaining such, he promised to never pressure her about anything, and that he was glad to take it slow.</p><p>And taking it slow, they surely took. If Pauline had to hear Luana and Charlie snickering about how they didn't even held hands, much less kissed one more time, she would hex them.</p><p>Truth be told, at first, she just didn't want to- she didn't like him enough to feel the need. But, as time continued, and he displayed that in fact he wasn't playing the role of a nice guy and that he was one genuinely, Pauline started to like him more and more. Now, with how much she knew of him, she wouldn't mind if he kissed her.</p><p>"Watch out, if you think any harder, your hair will catch on fire." She said. Albert looked up , and playfully rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Haha, so funny." He told her, with a small smile on his face. "You know you could help me." He replied, pouting.</p><p>Pauline laughed, tilting her head in curiosity.</p><p>"Help you? How?"</p><p>Immediately, Albert have her some cards.</p><p>"Can you quiz me?"</p><p>Pauline took the cards, but first looked around; last thing she needed after a study session was Ms. Pince on her tail for making noise.</p><p>Not finding the bat women anywhere, she nodded, and straighten her back.</p><p>"Oh, this one is easy. When was the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards founded?"</p><p>"In Medieval Era." He grinned.</p><p>Pauline moved to the next card, reading it first.</p><p>"What does the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards intend to accomplish?"</p><p>Albert took a bit longer to answer this time, but in a few moments he spoke.</p><p>"They want to... Recognise bravery against fantastic beasts."</p><p>Pauline nodded, and moved on to the next one.</p><p>"In which continent does this assembly apply- honestly, are all this just incredibly easy?"</p><p>Albert shrugged.</p><p>"I like to start with the easy ones. Plus, when I get to the hard ones, I prefer to do it in my dorm, so I can motive myself with candy- you know, as a reward."</p><p>Pauline scoffed, "Well, if we simply do easy ones, then there's no point. Here," She flipped through the cards, settling on a somewhat hard one, "I'll ask you this one, and if you get it right, I'll give you something as a reward."</p><p>"What?" He inquired.</p><p>"I don't know, just focus on getting it right, yes?"</p><p>"Okay." He replied. He took a moment to straighten himself and nodded. "Shoot." He said.</p><p>Pauline looked at the card.</p><p>"Which convention had a link to the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards and which sub-committee helped write both?"</p><p>"Fuck." He whispered. His eyebrows furrowed so much they almost formed an uni brow. He took his time to answer, time Pauline used to think of a reward.</p><p>He had been complaining his quill was annoying him lately, she could trade him- but then again, she <em>really </em>liked her quill. And it's not like she can just go to France to get a new one.</p><p>
  <em>Perhaps...</em>
</p><p>A smirked formed in her lips, and she snapped from her thoughts just in time to hear Albert's answer.</p><p>"It was the International Warlock Convention of 1289, and the sub-committee was... the Sardinian one?" He trailed.</p><p>Pauline grinned and happily nodded. Albert too grinned, happy he got it right.</p><p>"What's my reward?"</p><p>"Okay, close your eyes." She said, while making sure he saw her grab her satchel. He did, a smile on his lips.</p><p>Silently, Pauline set the satchel down once more, and lifted herself over the table. As she got closer to his face, she was met with the smell of peppermint of his toothpaste.</p><p>As she got really close- close enough to see he had some small faint freckles on his nose- she thought if this truly was a good idea. She sure wouldn't appreciate if someone kissed her without warning. So, she decided to speak up.</p><p>"Are you ready for you reward?" She whispered, her eyes searching his face.</p><p>His breath stopped and he stood straighter. He opened his eyes, and looked Pauline in the eyes. He simply nodded.</p><p>She gave him a small smile, and closed her eyes. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to go override as she got closer and closer.</p><p>And then, their lips touched.</p><p>The kiss was sloppy and clumsy- both had never kissed someone before- but Pauline found it so incredibly sweet the same.</p><p>As they parted, his eyes opened, and she could see how dazed he looked. She was sure she did too.</p><p>Her stomach was still happily bubbling, as he whispered, "Wow."</p><p>His breath smelled of peppermint.</p><p>+++</p><p>On the morning of the 25th of April, Charlie felt weirdly cheery. It was a Thursday, so her first class was Herbology. The sun was shining, and she didn't even trip on the fake step on her way to the Great Hall.</p><p>Truly by now, Charlie should have known good things don't last. In the middle of Herbology, Professor Flitwick appeared.</p><p>"I'm so sorry to bother Artemius, but could I borrow Miss. Rodrigues?"</p><p>Everyone turned to look at Luana, who simply shrugged and grabbed her satchel.</p><p>That was the last time Charlie saw Luana that day.</p><p>During lunch, Charlie and Pauline went to the dorm, only to see her trunk open, and a chunk of her clothes missing. Even Professor Flitwick wasn't useful, saying only than an emergency had appeared and she'd be back as soon as she could.</p><p>"Do you think someone else died?" Henry asked, while munching on some bacon. Charlie shrugged.</p><p>"I hope not. She's not ready for something so heavy again. She's only now handling her father's death in a healthy way."</p><p>"I just hope she isn't gone for a long time," Pauline commented, "She's already doing extra work for all the time she skipped, if she looses more, she might fail the year."</p><p>It was on Sunday that she'd finally appeared again.</p><p>She arrived at the Great Hall like nothing had happened, sitting down next to the girls. She looked like she hadn't slept since Thursday, she smelled of wine and parchment and was carrying a carnation.</p><p>"'Sup." She simply said.</p><p>"Where were you?" Pauline demanded, taking in her appearance. Before Luana answered, Henry arrived, breathing through his mouth.</p><p>"Where were you?" He asked.</p><p>Luana rolled her eyes, but before she could answer, Pauline spoke again.</p><p>"Did...someone else die or-"</p><p>"None of that." She replied. "The opposite actually."</p><p>"Well, why do you smell of wine then?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Some blokes in the streets were partying- I could barely pass by- and one spill a pint on me. Fucking arse hole." She scoffed.</p><p>If Luana had told such a tale in January, Charlie would have never believed her, but now it was different. Plus, Luana didn't look intoxicated, and her breath smelled of mint.</p><p>"So, what happened?" Henry asked again.</p><p>Luana sighed, pilling some food in her plate as she began her explanation.</p><p>"You guys know how there was a dictatorship back home?"</p><p>Charlie and Pauline answered 'yes' at the same time Henry said 'no'.</p><p>"Well," she turned to Henry. "There was one."</p><p>"Was?" Pauline interrupted. "As in... past tense?"</p><p>"Yes," Luana continued, "Past tense. That's why they call me back, because of this revolution the muggles did- you wouldn't like Pauline, they didn't behead anyone-, the Portuguese Ministry of Magic had to recall all his students to inform and cancel their travelling visas- they don't need it anymore. I didn't even get to go home, they took me straight to the Ministry in Lisbon." Luana shook her head. "And let me tell you, it's crazy out there right now. Everyone celebrating, there's military everywhere, everyone drinking in the streets- People are taking this new found freedom seriously." She held the carnation. "They even were throwing this to people everywhere. I think I even caught a couple straight up shagging in some alley." She whistled. "The capital is nuts."</p><p>"Anyways, these last days were a nightmare. They called every student in Beauxbâtons and me, of course, and we all had to wait for them to call us one by one. I basically camped in some hallway for the last days. Still, considering the amount of students, I'm surprised I wasn't there longer."</p><p>"Wait, wait- Why were people throwing carnations? Is there just, some weird tradition of yours?" Henry asked. Luana snorted.</p><p>"Yes Henry, we throw random carnations at people because of Saints." She replied sarcastically. She paused to munch on her toast. "No, for some reason is the symbol of the revolution. I got there late, so I don't know exactly why myself. I'm sure my mum will tell me all about it in her next letter." She leaned the carnation in Henry's way. "Want it?"</p><p>Henry shrugged and grabbed the carnation from Luana's hands.</p><p>"My mum loves these." He muttered. Luana turned her gaze to the girls.</p><p>"So does this mean we finally get to go see your house?" Pauline asked.</p><p>Luana laughed. "Definitely not."</p><p>A sudden silence fell over them, as Charlie tried to word what she wanted to ask.</p><p>"Do you think things will change a lot now?" She asked.</p><p>Luana shrugged.</p><p>"Who knows, I guess I'll just have to live it to see it. It was fun though, to be there as things had just happened- it was like seeing History being made." She grinned. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Life is, once again, getting complicated, so this will be the last update until Christmas.  After that well- we'll have to see.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 16- 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑠</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I cannot believe you're going to leave me here alone to suffer." Charlie heard Luana mutter from her bed.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes, and kept looking around the room. "Well, who's fault is it that they got behind in DADA? And Transfigurations?" She asked while lifting every other book in her desk.</p><p>Luana sighed, but replied, "Me." In a soft tone. "Still, why can't I go to you to the library? Line can tutor me there."</p><p>Pauline snorted from her desk, where she was organising her notes. "So you can get distracted by who walks in and out? I don't think so." She turned to the girls. "You can't delay this anymore; finals are next week and you still haven't caught up."</p><p>Luana scoffed. Charlie huffed in annoyance.</p><p>"Has any of you seen my Herbology book?"</p><p>"Oh! Is that what you're looking for? I have it, I used it as a paperweight for a few loose pages of my Transfiguration book." Luana replied relaxed, pointing to the floor next to the window, where Charlie's Herbology book lay, with 5 pages of Luana's transfiguration book under it. Getting the book, Charlie noticed that the pages were folded like air planes.</p><p>"Got no idea how they got loose, but they did not go to waste." Was the only thing Luana said when Charlie grabbed one of the air planes.</p><p>Finally ready to leave, Charlie turned to her friends one last time.</p><p>"Don't let her slack, Line!"</p><p>"I'll make her my bitch." Line replied absently as she looked over her notes.</p><p>Charlie chuckled, and quickly descended down the stairs. She was already late, and she hated to make people wait for her.</p><p>She got to the library in record time, but waited outside before entering. Running in June was definitely one of her worse ideas, she could feel some sweat on her back.</p><p>She grimace, she hated sweating, and looked to the window. She was truly surprised how hot it was in Scotland during June. She had catch worse, back in Beauxbâtons, but this had to be one of the hottest June's she ever experienced.</p><p>After a few minutes of getting used to the air around her, Charlie finally opened the door, and quietly made her way to her usual table. There, Lily was already waiting for her, a brow furrowed as she looked over her notes.</p><p>"Hey. Sorry I'm late." Charlie said. Lily looked up and smiled.</p><p>"No problem, gave me some time to read over my notes. Merlin, I just hope the DADA exam is easy. Professor Wythe is a bit of a...wild card." Lily trailed.</p><p>Charlie snorted. "Pauline had been complaining so much, I just told her to write the headmaster about it. I'm pretty sure she spammed the poor man."</p><p>Lily chuckled, and opened her Herbology book.</p><p>"So, I know it's still a week away, but I wanted to get this already out of way. Can you explain me this?"</p><p>Charlie gazed at Lily's notes. Of everyone she helped in Herbology, Lily was by far her favourite. She always had a list of things she didn't know or especial questions she wasn't sure about. It was a breath of fresh air compared to how clueless both Rory and Sirius were.</p><p>"Alright!" Charlie started, "So, the Stinksap is..."</p><hr/><p>Charlie never thought her finals would be this bad. As she left her Arithmancy final, she could only pray the professor would see how hard she worked and would take pity on her.</p><p>She waited outside the door for Remus, and the two walked to the Great Hall together, discussing their answers. Charlie started to feel even worse once she saw how in detailed Remus had gotten. There was no way she'd actually pass this class.</p><p>"I'm so glad this one is already over." Remus said, cracking his knuckles. "These 2 weeks are going to be an absolute nightmare. You've got any more today?"</p><p>Charlie nodded. "Yeah, DADA."</p><p>He hummed, seeming upset. "I already did ours, it was so boring. It was just a written one. Honestly, if I was him I would have done something different, more interactive. It's better to make sure the students actually know what they're doing if in contact with anything than to see if they memorised how to identify a Grindylow." He sighed.</p><p>"I see you too don't like Professor Wythe."</p><p>He snorted, "I'm that obvious, am I?"</p><p>"A bit." She shrugged. "But I've heard worse. Pauline leaves that class with a desire to murder. I'm sure it won't go that differently today."</p><p>"Oh, trust me. If your exam is anything like ours was, she will kill him."</p><p>"Let's hope. Maybe that way he won't teach next year." She laughed. "What about you? You've got any more exams today?"</p><p>He nodded, "History."</p><p>"Yikes, good luck." She said, as they entered the Great Hall. He smiled.</p><p>"Thanks, you too."</p><p>They separated, each going to their own tables. Glancing quickly at the Gryffindor table, Charlie saw Anne and her friend revising, and a few seats down, Henry, who seemed to be trying to pull all his hair out.</p><p>"He'll go bald in no time." Charlie commented as she sat down. Luana looked up from her DADA book and quirked an eyebrow. Charlie nodded at Henry, and Luana cackled.</p><p>"Let's hope, I reckon it'd be a fun sight. Won't be able to mess it for quidditch but he can always shine it to perfection."</p><p>Pauline chuckled, as she grabbed a second serving of salmon. Charlie wondered how on earth she was so calm.</p><p>"Aren't you going to revise?"</p><p>Pauline snorted. "For what? If <em>l'incompétent </em>even has an exam ready, I'll be surprised." She looked at Luana, "But that doesn't mean you can stop studying." She warned.</p><p>Luana sighed, but turned her eyes to her book, as she munched on a bread loaf with butter.</p><p>"Must you be like that with her?" Charlie asked.</p><p>"Yes, I must." Pauline replied. "We want her to pass, don't we?"</p><p>Charlie didn't argue. Luana was behind in just about every class, the months she lost still visible in her grades. Even when she stopped cutting class, she wasn't exactly motivated to make all of her homework or answer questions in class. It was only by mid-March that she picked up the pace.</p><p>The three finished eating quickly, and went to the DADA class. Neither the rest of the Ravenclaws or the Slytherins seemed particularly nervous. Apparently, no one had faith that Professor Wythe would make a hard exam.</p><p>"Cannot believe he's still our teacher." Pauline muttered, as she tapped her foot. "I've written at least a dozen letters to Dumbledore."</p><p>"And he didn't respond?" Charlie asked.</p><p>Pauline hesitated. "Well, I didn't write it as myself, I just signed '<em>a concerned student</em>'."</p><p>Luana whistled. "That's low- If you're going to end a man's career, at least admit it."</p><p>Pauline sputtered. "I'm not ending his career- obviously, since he's still here. I just didn't want it to backfire on me. What if Dumbledore showed Wythe the letters? I didn't want to have an embarrassing talk on what he's doing wrong."</p><p>"Oh, I see. So, you chickened out in taking responsibility." Luana grinned, most likely loving how Pauline's reaction.</p><p>Her freckled cheeks are red, her eyes looking everywhere as she tried to sputtered an answer. Her scowled deepened when she realised what exactly Luana was doing.</p><p>"That's not what I said! Now, stop distracting me and study!"</p><p>Luana chuckled, but her eyes turned to the book.</p><p>It took 10 more minutes before Professor Wythe opened the door again, looking out of breath.</p><p>"Sorry for the delay, Youngblood! Are you all stocked for the exam?" He asked. Some kids, who must have really wanted an O, pretended to go with whatever Professor Wythe was saying, but mostly everyone just tried to enter the class as soon as possible.</p><p>As Charlie entered, she realised why he was so out of breath: All the tables had been changed to be the farthest away as possible. The girls exchanged looks. This felt so incredibly unnecessary that Charlie wanted to laugh. As if people needed others to be able to cheat.</p><p>The exam seemed like both a joke and a breath of fresh air. It was so terribly easy that Charlie wanted to cry. All she could think was the nights of stressing over and studying, only for this exam to be so easy she could have done it in the beginning of the year with no knowledge what-so-ever.</p><p>But it also made her relieved. After Arithmancy, that last thing she wanted was another hard exam that would make her start crying as soon as she left the classroom.</p><p>She took around an hour to complete it all and revise it. Thankfully, there was only a bit longer to wait.</p><p>She glanced around. Luana seemed to be flying through hers as well, and Pauline seemed to want to throw a desk at Professor Wythe by every second that passed. Charlie noticed that, every time she read a question, she would glare furiously at the Professor, and huff as she answered.</p><p>It was no surprised to Charlie that Pauline was one of the lasts to finish. No matte what test it was, Pauline always took the longest. She would write slowly, and always checking her mistakes, especially if she had to write in English.</p><p>Charlie looked ahead. This week would be absolute hell: Tomorrow she'd have Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. The day after Transfiguration; On Thursday, Herbology and History.</p><p>Even the last week seemed like a daze: Every night, they would stay up to study. She remembered struggling a bit with the practical of Charms, and how absolutely dreadful she felt during the Astronomy exam. It wasn't even hard, and Charlie was glad when she realised how much she knew about it, but just the anxiety before the exam was enough for her to wish she could just now drop the class.</p><p>She sighed. She truly couldn't wait until the weekend. Thankfully she had no exams on Friday, so she was already planning on skipping History of Magic to catch up on some sleep. And on Saturday was the last quidditch game, between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.</p><p>It saddened Charlie, that the year was already ending. It felt like it went by so fast. She loved Beauxbâtons, but there was something so magical about Hogwarts. Maybe It was the friends she made, or maybe her cousin's presence. Or maybe the fact she rarely felt lonely here.</p><p>The castle was so enormous, but it still felt so homey. And no matter what was happening, there was always someone to be with. Charlie couldn't imagine going home after feeling this comfortable for so long.</p><p>She loved her home, and she couldn't wait to be able to wake up at midday every day and go to movie marathons at the closer cinema, but she also didn't feel like being just her and her sister at home, all summer long.</p><p>She glanced at the clock. She still had half an hour.</p><p>She sighed.</p><hr/><p>"Holy fuck, that took forever!" Luana groaned, her walk more relaxed than usual.</p><p>"At least your tortoise didn't have a tail!" Pauline replied.</p><p>"I don't think the motherfucker still breathing steam is a good sign, though." Luana answered back.</p><p>"Mine was still blue." Charlie complained.</p><p>"Well, at least that was the last one! Now we can breathe in and sleep for the rest of the remaining week."</p><p>"Don't forget we promised to go to the quidditch game on Saturday."</p><p>Luana groaned loudly, throwing her hands in the air. "To whom?! No one we know is playing!"</p><p>"Henry wants to go see it anyway, and I don't think it's a good idea to let him watch it alone."</p><p>"Oh, please- He's a grown man, he can handle it." Luana complained. She paused for a few moments and then sighed. "But fine. I'm curious to see who wins anyway."</p><p>"Oh!" Pauline suddenly said. "Look how pretty it is outside!"</p><p>Charlie looked out the nearest window. The sun was shining, making the Black Lake the more inviting. Some students were around the lake, some even brave enough to dip their feet in. All around, people were standing under the trees, enjoying their last moments of pure happiness.</p><p>Glancing over the fields, Charlie saw one tree with no one in it: the almond tree she had gazed to all those months ago. She grinned and turned to the girls.</p><p>"Want to go out there?" She asked, Luana grinned and Pauline nodded, and soon they took off.</p><p>Charlie guided them to the tree. Luana jumped in and climb to the main branch, the closest to the ground as possible. She carefully laid in it, her gaze meeting Pauline's, who had sat on the grass, her back leaning on the trunk of the tree.</p><p>Charlie laid on the grass, under the light shade the tree gave her. Between the elongated leaves, she looked at the sky, relaxing with every second.</p><p>It was finally over. After 2 weeks of studying at any moment she could, and of moments she wanted to rip her entire scalp out, it was finally over. She still had a week before she got her results back, and planned on enjoying that week by staying in bed and doing absolutely nothing. </p><p>From the distance, some birds chipped, and Luana hummed from above them. She looked like a sloth, laying on her stomach, her arms and legs letting gravity decide how they should be. Thank Merlin she always wore some shorts under her skirt, or else she might be giving some people the show of a lifetime.</p><p>They stayed like that for so long, that Charlie almost fell asleep. Just before she could, however, Pauline spoke up.</p><p>"You know what I could go for right now?" She asked, her voice laced with a lazy lull. "Ice cream."</p><p>"There's some in the kitchens." Luana commented in a soft tone.</p><p>Both Charlie and Pauline turned to Luana.</p><p>"You know where the kitchens are?"</p><p>Luana smiled. "Yes. Want to go there?"</p><p>The girls nodded, but took a long time getting up. No matter how much they wanted ice cream, the idea of having to leave was so unappealing.</p><p>Still, eventually they managed, and strolled down back to the castle. By the time they arrived at the lower levels, it was almost dinner time.</p><p>Luana guided them pass a bunch to wheelbarrows, and to a painting of a bowl of fruit. She tickled the pear, making Charlie wonder if she was still high from the lazy afternoon. But she quickly forgot it, when the pear giggled and turned into a doorknob. She pushed the painting open, and raised her arms.</p><p>"Welcome, to the kitchens."</p><p>The kitchens had 5 enormous tables, mirroring the ones in the Great Hall. All types of foods were being positioned at them, by house-elves.</p><p>Charlie had never seen this many. Truthfully, she had only seen one or two house-elves in her life. The one Grandma Auriane had, that went to Aunt Marie after she died, and one from an old friend of Grandma Auriane.</p><p>But the kitchens were filled with them- everywhere she looked there were at least 5 house-elves trying to take each other's chores.</p><p>"How much did you trip when you first saw them?" Charlie asked absently. Luana turned to her, her eyes huge.</p><p>"A lot."</p><p>Not even a second later, a small house elf, with big blue eyes appeared in front of them.</p><p>"Young Mistress!" The house elf squealed. "Oh, Fezco is so glad to see the Young Misstress!"</p><p>Luana smiled, but it looked strained. "Hi, Fezco." She pointed at Pauline and Charlie. "These are my friends. We wanted some ice cream, please."</p><p>Fezco nodded his head repeatedly, while sobbing. Charlie was sure he was squeaking 'YES' over and over, but could barely understand it over his loud sobs.</p><p>Luana guided them to what would have been the replica of the Ravenclaw table, and sat down.</p><p>Soon, Fezco returned, carrying at least 5 different types of ice cream. 2 more elves came with him ,all carrying too many ice creams as well.</p><p>"Oh blimey, I should have specified." Luana muttered. "That's enough, Fezco! We don't need any more ice cream!" She replied.</p><p>The house-elves dropped the ice cream and bowed, quickly returning to their chores.</p><p>"Look at all this." Pauline said, grabbing the different ice-creams. "Strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, mint, cookie, mango, banana, caramel, birthday cake, Stracciatella...They really went all out."</p><p>Luana snorted as she grabbed the mint one. "I know, right?"</p><p>Pauline grabbed the Stracciatella and Charlie the cookie. Ever so often they'd switch, even mixing some (banana and mint was the worst mix Charlie had ever had, by <em>far) </em>and even making a pile of all flavours, and see who could finish first (Somehow, Pauline).</p><p>They ended up making a huge mess, but the house-elves seemed more than happy to clean it.</p><p>"Oh, Christ. I'm full." Luana complained, while rubbing her belly.</p><p>"Ditto. Oh, Thank Merlin we missed the feast, I don't think I can see more food right now."</p><p>"A pity really." Charlie said, feeling too full to move. "I hear they made great desserts today."</p><p>Luana pondered the statement.</p><p>"Well, I mean," She started, "Trying some won't kill us."</p><hr/><p>Charlie realised that, listening to Luana, never ended nicely.</p><p>After Luana convinced them to try the desserts, the three made their way out of the kitchens. It took them an hour to even climb all the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room, since they kept taking so many breaks.</p><p>By the time they arrived, Pauline immediately ran to their shared bathroom and puked. Charlie, after hearing the sounds of it, also ran to puke.</p><p>Only Luana seem to hold it together, a feat that didn't seem as impressive as Friday rolled around and she moaned all day about her stomachache. It got to the point where they carry her all the way to the Infirmary, since she claimed she could barely move.</p><p>Thankfully, all girls seemed hesitant to eat more than soup during dinner that night, so Charlie wasn't surprise when she woke up on Saturday, feeling better than she did the prior day.</p><p>Thankfully, Pauline too was already up and chipper, so the two joined forces in waking up Luana, who at first pretended she was still sick just so she could sleep more, but since Charlie knows that a sick Luana would have been more annoying than this, she had no choice but to get dressed and ready to go.</p><p>They three entered the Great hall, and saw that both the Slytherin and the Hufflepuff's tables were already filled to the brim. Chatter was heard all around the Great Hall, as everyone was excited to see who'd win this year.</p><p>Charlie stopped in her tracks as her eyes stayed in the Gryffindor table.</p><p>Not many were up, and the table was mostly empty, making the more easy to find Henry. She frowned once she noticed him eating all on his own.</p><p>She turned to walk to him, the girls followed after a second. Quietly, Charlie sat on Henry's left side, just as Pauline sat on his right.</p><p>He jumped, most likely not expecting company.</p><p>"What are you doing eating alone?" Charlie asked, just as Luana sat across from them. She stole a piece of bacon from his plate as he was distracted.</p><p>Henry shrugged. "The boys didn't feel like waking up this early after a week of OWL's. Honestly, I get it. I was tempted on not coming, but I'd rather not pass the opportunity to watch a free quidditch game."</p><p>"Are you going to the World Cup this summer?" Pauline asked, as she started to cut her pancakes.</p><p>Henry grinned and nodded. "Todman's dad got us tickets and Brigman is bringing his grandparent's tent." He turned to Charlie, "So I'm guessing you'll have to endure the Armfield's dinner without me."</p><p>Charlie groaned, already dreading the whole ordeal. She at least hoped Amelia would be around.</p><p>"What teams are playing?" Luana asked, stealing her 3rd piece of bacon from Henry's plate. He turned to her to answer, only to do a double-take and scowl.</p><p>"Stop eating my bloody bacon!"</p><p>She simply shrugged, "You eat mine when you sit with us, so I'm sorry to inform, dearest Henry, I'm eating yours when I sit with you." She grinned, and shamelessly grabbed another piece from his plate.</p><p>Henry seemed in a state between angry and shocked. He turned to Charlie.</p><p>"Are you going to allow this?"</p><p>Charlie snorted, "Do you really think <em>I'm </em>the one with some sense of control on her?" She scoffed, and pointed at Pauline. Henry turned to Pauline.</p><p>"Can you make her stop?"</p><p>Pauline sighed, but glared at Luana.</p><p>"Don't torment him." She warned.</p><p>Luana sighed, "Fine." She said. "Bitch." She mouthed to Henry.</p><p>Henry smirked and Charlie decided to interrupt before she heard something she <em>really </em>didn't want to.</p><p>"Okay!" She almost screamed. "Time to go!"</p><p>They all made their way to the quidditch pitch, that was already filling in. Most Ravenclaws and Gryffindors didn't show, only the true die-hard fans. Charlie guessed making a quidditch game right after exams was just a bad idea.</p><p>They easily found a spot and had a few minutes to settle in before the game.</p><p>Charlie also noticed how Henry's mood seem to shift so suddenly. The closer they got to the start of the game, Henry would switch between looking gloom and smirking. Charlie tried to signify this change to Luana, who after she caught up to it, discreetly changed places and kept Henry occupied with some hand game.</p><p>It was just some slap game, but his spirits seemed to lift as the two kept annoying each other off.</p><p>Cheers were heard, as the two teams appeared. All the groups attention turned to the game that was just about to start.</p><p>The first thing Charlie realised, is that she knew no one on the teams, so whenever the commentator said any name, Charlie was still majorly confused.</p><p>The second thing she realised, is that both teams were equally matched. The Hufflepuffs had strong chasers, but the Slytherins had an amazing keeper. To Charlie, the game wasn't as fun to watch like when its Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Still, she could still appreciate when the Hufflepuff Chaser accidentally bumped into the Slytherin's beater.</p><p>The beater, clearly offended, tried to swat his beater's bat at the chaser, but was interrupted when Madame Hooch yelled at both.</p><p>The game didn't take more than an hour and a half. Slytherin was winning by 50 points, when the snitch was seen.</p><p>Charlie had noted in previous games how amazing the Slytherin seeker was, but even he couldn't catch a snitch that appeared right next to the Hufflepuff seeker.</p><p>Hufflepuff was announced the winner and the Hufflepuff stands roared and all moved down to the pitch to celebrate.</p><p>They all looked as the Hufflepuffs cheered in the pitch. It seemed like the entire house was there celebrating and since Hufflepuff hadn't had a win in almost 7 years, Charlie could see why.</p><p>Everyone was trying to discreetly look towards Henry, who's eyes would not leave the scene.</p><p>It was only when Luana touched his arm that he snapped out of it and looked at her. Luana gave him a tiny smile.</p><p>"I still think you should have won, you worked so hard these last few-"</p><p>"Yea, I did" he interrupted, looking again at the team celebrating. He sighed. "But they worked harder, and they deserve to win the cup. Plus, they weren't arrogant douches like me."</p><p>Luana stared at him.</p><p>"You aren't the same boy you were in the beginning of the year, Henry. You've matured and I'm very proud of you for it." She smiled. When she noticed he smiled back, she shrugged. "Plus, it's way easier to put up with you now." she added.</p><p>Henry chuckled and smiled at Luana.</p><p>"Thanks, for everything."</p><p>Luana winked, letting go of his arm and turning to the front just as the Hufflepuff Captain was being thrown in the air.</p><p>Henry stared at his arm for a bit, but quickly turned his sight to the team as well.</p><p>It seemed that now, the Hufflepuffs were trying to grab Professor Hatman, their head of house, in the air. Charlie had never seen the poor man run so fast in her life. In fact, he ran so fast, he slipped, and fell.</p><p>He seemed to scream in pain, and Charlie grimaced when she noticed the awkward way his foot was facing.</p><p>"Holy-" Luana said.</p><p>"Fuck." Henry ended.</p><hr/><p>"And so, it's with great sorrow that we say goodbye to our dearest Professor Artemius Hatman, who's decided in an early retirement." Dumbledore announce in the End of Year feast, his eyes twinkling.</p><p>The Hufflepuff table seemed quieter than usual. Pauline hit Luana, who seemed to be trying to hold in her laughter.</p><p>"With him, I'm sad to say, will also be leaving Professor Elijah Wythe, who after some general complains, had decided to go and explore the world. We can only hope to see you again some day, as a different man." Professor Dumbledore smiled as Professor Wythe looked redder by the second.</p><p>Pauline's mouth dropped open. Charlie could feel her eyes widen and her mouth hang open as well, and Luana seemed to be choking in her own silent laughter.</p><p>"Did I-" Pauline started, her voice cracking "Did I just get a teacher fired?" She asked, looking appalled by the thought.</p><p>Luana howled in laughter, her face red and some tears streaming down her face. Thankfully, her laughter was drowned by the applause given by the end of Dumbledore's speech.</p><p>"Oh, man." Luana wheezed out, as she wiped her cheeks. Every now and then, she'd spur some more laughter. "What a finale of a year. Can't wait to tell Henry about this one."</p><hr/><p>"Come one, Line. There's no point in thinking about it now. I'm sure he'll be fine." Charlie tried once more.</p><p>It was almost 11 pm and Pauline was still slowly packing. Luana had, thankfully, finished by now, and Charlie was almost done too.</p><p>"What if he really liked this job?" She asked in a small voice.</p><p>"Well, he was shite at it. Sometimes, liking something isn't enough." Luana said from her bed.</p><p>Pauline pondered, as she neatly folded one of her dresses. "I guess you're right. He was pretty awful at it."</p><p>"Exactly. So, don't worry about it."</p><p>Charlie glanced around their room. It looked so weird and bare. There were no pictures on the walls, no clothes spread around, or books thrown all over the floor. It was sad to think they wouldn't see this room for the whole summer. It felt like a second home.</p><p>"I do wonder, though," Luana uttered, "Who they'll bring for next year."</p><hr/><p>Both Luana and Henry howled with laughter, getting worse every time they looked at Pauline, who didn't look at all amused. It took them at least 5 minutes to even calm down, and by then Charlie was sure everyone on the train was wondering why banshees were in the train back to London.</p><p>"Are you two done?" Pauline snapped. Both Luana and Henry were red in the face, with tears streaming down by now. They were using each other for support as they occasionally had some small fits of laughter.</p><p>"Why?" Henry asked, "Are you going to get me fired if I don't?" He snorted some more.</p><p>Pauline stomped her foot, and started to hit Henry.</p><p>"It's- not-funny!" She said, still hitting him. "I may have ruined his life!"</p><p>"Don't be so dramatic, he's young, he'll find something else." Luana told her. "Plus, what did you expect was going to happen? You sent like, 20 letters! Of course, he got sacked."</p><p>"I didn't actually think he would- I just figured he'd changed his teaching technique to something actually useful!"</p><p>"Oh, you're getting a new teaching technique alright." Henry replied, and was met to another smack on the head.</p><p>He snorted, and managed to compose himself, "Alright, you trouble-makers, I'm off. Enjoy your ride."</p><p>He left their compartment, still snickering to himself.</p><p>"I cannot believe you actually told him." Pauline glared.</p><p>"Well, of course I did, I needed someone to laugh with since Charlie over here is deciding to take the high moral ground and be mature or something." Luana scoffed.</p><p>"Or something." Charlie answered.</p><p>Pauline scoffed as she sat down just in time for the train to pick up the pace. Soon after, the trolley lady appeared, and Charlie got up to her feet. She bought an unhealthy amount of Cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs and Liquorish wands. She also got some peppermint imps and 3 boxes of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans.</p><p>She threw the chocolate frogs to Luana and the liquorish wands to Pauline.</p><p>"Check it." She said, throwing the beans to Luana, who caught them with ease. She grinned and removed her tie, that she was wearing as a hairband.</p><p>"Will you look at that." She replied, "Something fun to do".</p><hr/><p>"Just swallow, Charlie I can promise you it isn't that bad."</p><p>As a general rule, whenever Luana said something '<em>wasn't that bad</em>', Charlie knew it probably was. And considering that it was Luana who was feeding her the beans, Charlie had an idea how truly bad it could be.</p><p>Still, Charlie swallowed the bean she held with her teeth. The second she did, she felt the smell of spinach hit her sensitive buds, and wanted to vomit.</p><p>"Oh, I hate you so much." She removed Luana's tie from her eyes, and handed it to Pauline.</p><p>Pauline put it on and held her hand out. Looking through the beans, Charlie chose a red one, and handed it to Pauline.</p><p>Pauline immediately stuck it in her mouth, and a seconds later started wheezing for breath.</p><p>"Chilli- chilli-it's so fucking spicy!" She shrieked. She quickly removed the makeshift blindfold and grabbed her water bottle.</p><p>Luana snorted a bit and Charlie chuckled.</p><p>"Alright, my turn." Luana took the blindfold, just as they felt the train slow down. Still, Charlie grabbed a light blue/grey, that she was sure had to taste terribly.</p><p>Luana opened her mouth, as if to be fed a grape, and Charlie popped the bean in her mouth. Luana swallowed, and grimaced and gagged.</p><p>"Sardine." She simply said, taking the tie off her eyes and trying to readjust it on her hair.</p><p>"Serves you right, for giving me spinach- you know I hate it."</p><p>"That's because you're weak."</p><p>Charlie huffed and the three started to clean their space. The compartment was filled with empty wrappers, some clothes here and there, and some books.</p><p>They managed to put it all away just in time for Henry to reach them.</p><p>"You ladies ready?" He asked, as he pulled Pauline's dark trunk. After, he pulled Luana's light blue and Charlie's. "There you go." He said. "Now. Come one, I'm sure I'll need help for Anne's trunk." Pauline and Charlie laughed, but Luana simply frowned.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Don't worry about it, Sunshine." Henry said absently, as he pulled his own trunk down the hall.</p><p>Anne was in one of the last compartments, and just like last time, was struggling with her trunk. Henry turned around, and eyed the three girls, as if trying to size which one would be the strongest. He must have not liked his conclusion since he grimaced.</p><p>"Alright then Charlie, come help me."</p><p>"What? Why me? You know, Lu does a lot of heavy, farm work-"</p><p>"Well, it isn't her sister's trunk, now is it?"</p><p>Charlie grumbled but she couldn't fight his logic.</p><p>Thankfully, Anne's trunk wasn't as heavy as before, but the amount of weight still made Charlie wonder what the bloody hell her sister had in her trunk.</p><p>Charlie quickly let it go, and grabbed Yaris' cage from Pauline's hands. The five of them made their way out of the compartments, and into the platform. They all stood there, trying to find their families.</p><p>Pauline was the first to find her parents and aunt. Pauline's parents waved to them, and they waved back (including Henry, after Luana discreetly hit him). Pauline turned to them and hugged Charlie first.</p><p>"Oh! I'll miss you idiots-" She gave a kiss in each cheek. "You have to go to mine's this summer, yes? We can all go to the beach, and you should see the enormous library we have!"</p><p>She moved on the Luana, who she squeezed extra hard. "Sure thing, Line." Luana said.</p><p>Pauline kissed her cheeks and grabbed them with her hands, making sure Luana was looking her in the eyes. Charlie was sure it was meant to be a serious moment, but the immense height different between the two, took Charlie right out of it. Luana had to crouch.</p><p>"And you," Pauline said, deadly serious. "Take care of yourself, you hear me?"</p><p>Luana smiled, and winked at her. "Don't you worry, a few meals from my gran and I'm good as new." She replied, but there was a bittersweet tone to it.</p><p>Charlie realised, her gran- Her father's mum. It would be Luana's first summer, and time at home, without her father.</p><p>Pauline affectionately hit her cheek and quickly hugged Anne and even Henry, who seemed confused.</p><p>She ran to her parents, and was soon lost in the crowd.</p><p>"Who's picking you up?" Henry asked Luana.</p><p>"My mum and brother."</p><p>"Oh?" Charlie asked, "Your cute brother?"</p><p>"Trust me, you're too good for him." Luana snorted.</p><p>"Oh, I don't know about that..." Charlie trailed. "Better get another look to be <em>absolutely </em>sure..."</p><p>"Well he's not here." She replied, "They're waiting in the muggle side- I don't think I could possibly even begin to explain to my mum that I'm not winding her up when I tell her to run against a wall."</p><p>"Smart." Henry said.</p><p>Luana turned, and hugged Charlie. "Pity we don't get to torment Pauline on her birthday." She muttered. Charlie snickered into Luana's shoulder.</p><p>"Watch it, if you say it like that, she might just invite us."</p><p>"Us? In that big house? We'd burn it to the ground." She mused, releasing Charlie to give her two kisses.</p><p>She turned to Anne and did the same.</p><p>She then turned to Henry, "Don't train yourself to death, yes? I need someone to show me those embarrassing child pictures of Charlie." She said, while hugging him. Henry chuckled.</p><p>"You bet." He then turned his face and whispered something in Luana's ear. She separated herself enough to give him two kisses, one on each cheek, and said,</p><p>"It's what friends do for each other." Which was a bit odd in Charlie's book.</p><p>She let go and grabbed her trunk.</p><p>"See you losers in a few months." She replied, grinning and turning to the passageway.</p><p>The crowds swallowed her, and Charlie sighed, looking around for someone. Eventually, she found her Aunt Beatrice.</p><p>"Come on," She said, "I see your mum."</p><p>As soon as they came close enough, Aunt Beatrice attacked Henry in a hug, only stopping to fill his face with kisses. Henry laughed.</p><p>"Hi mum." He said.</p><p>"I-missed-you-so-darn-much!" She replied, punctuating each word with another kiss.</p><p>"I missed you, too." Henry replied, a grin on his face.</p><p>Charlie cleared her throat, and her aunt turned to her.</p><p>"I've missed you two as well!" She said, hugging both, and kissing their heads.</p><p>"Did he behave?" She whispered.</p><p>Charlie smiled. "Somewhat."</p><p>Aunt Beatrice smiled.</p><p>"Well, then." She started, "Ice cream?"</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Holidays to all and please remember to be safe! No news on when i'll update next since, i highly doubt i'll do it in the upcoming weeks. </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 17- 𝐴 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Mum, please!" Charlie begged as she stalked her mum around the house. Just the fact that she had woke up early just to try to convince her mum, should be enough evidence that she was serious, but apparently her mum didn't think so.</p><p>"It's her birthday, she'll be so disappointed- plus <em>both </em>her parents are wizards, and they're purebloods, <em>in France.</em> I highly doubt anything about a <em>British </em>war will have to do with them."</p><p>Her mother simply scoffed, as she checked her bag. "You clearly don't remember your muggle history that well then."</p><p>"Mum, come on! It's only a week. And she's been here loads of times, what's the big deal?"</p><p>"The big deal, is a different country, with your two-very lovely- but impulsive friends. If I sent you there, with basically no one to look after, and you'll come back with a criminal record."</p><p>Charlie scoffed. "That's a bit of an exaggeration."</p><p>Her mum sent her a pointed look.</p><p>"What if I promise to be on my absolute be on my best behaviour? Like this year! I behaved so well-"</p><p>"Charlotte Agatha Ellis, you're not going and that's final." She snapped.</p><p>After hearing her full name, Charlie decided to drop it for now. She had been trying to convince her mum for <em>days</em> but the answer was still the same. Even though Pauline's parents both worked in the Law enforcement department in the French Ministry.</p><p>Charlie pouted and heard her mother sigh. "Charlie please, this is for your own good. If you knew how truly bad it is out there- how complicated this is becoming. I just don't want you hurt. Sending you to Hogwarts was already a big sacrifice for me. If you want, you can ask Pauline to come a week earlier-"</p><p>"For what?" Charlie snapped. "So we can stand around and look at the same walls as before? You don't even let me show her around London or even Diagon Alley without someone around."</p><p>Her mother sighed again while rubbing her temples. "Charlotte, I know it's hard to understand at your age, but please." She sighed, "When you become a mother, you'll understand. I've got to go; I'm going to be late. Lunch is in the microwave, just make a salad and <em>make sure your sister eats some. </em>We'll talk more when I get home." She lowered and gave Charlie a kiss on her forehead.</p><p>"I love you." She whispered.</p><p>She grabbed some powder and threw it at the fire in the fireplace. She spoke her destination and was soon gone.</p><p>Charlie sighed. She knew her mother was right in a way. Every other day, the only news on the Daily Prophet were about the awful attacks by the Death Eaters. More and more muggleborns and muggles were being killed in really horrible ways and even Charlie didn't feel truly safe sometimes in Diagon Alley.</p><p>But it was also so incredibly unfair that she was the only person her age with such restrictions. From the letters she's gotten, Luana said she mostly did whatever she wanted and was fine as long as she was back by dinner. Rory was allowed to go anywhere in muggle London that was close to home and even Maeve got to stroll around Cork.</p><p>Charlie starred at the clock. It was already almost 10am and sadly, she knew exactly who'd be showing up by then.</p><p>Which, of course, brought the full circle to her point. <em>She </em>wasn't allowed out, but <em>Sirius </em>got to cross half of London just to annoy her. Granted, this hell was of her own doing.</p><p>She was the one who accidentally slipped that she lived in London during one of their tutoring sessions. Granted, Sirius lived in Islington while Charlie lived in Kensington, which was still a long walk- 1 hour and 20 minutes by Sirius' calculations- so Charlie did wonder if he was that bored or if she was just that funny to annoy.</p><p>Regardless, she decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Truth be told, she didn't mind Sirius company. Sure, he annoyed her to bits most of the time, but it was rather hilarious to just bring him something muggle and watch him try to figure it out.</p><p>Once, Charlie was heating something in the microwave, while Sirius just watch, absolutely hypnotised with it. Charlie would never forget the shriek he gave when the microwaved beeped.</p><p>Today, she had a bigger challenge for him. Charlie had decided to keep the best for last, so today she would show him the tv.</p><p>She decided to just have breakfast, while waiting. She wondered how today would be. Normally, Sirius would be the normal amount of annoying- the tolerable amount- but some days he really did cross that line as if it was invisible.</p><p>Granted, Charlie got easier annoyed these days. Ever since her mother told her she couldn't go to her friend's birthday, that Charlie really got annoyed with anything. It was like she was on the continuous state of mild anger.</p><p>Charlie closed her eyes and basked in the silence in the house. Normally, she absolutely hated the silence, but with Sirius visiting every day, the silence had become one of Charlie's favourite things.</p><p>She knew Sirius wasn't truly that annoying but having to deal with a hyper Sirius almost all day while already annoyed was truly incredibly difficult.</p><p>The silence lasted about 20 minutes. Soon, Charlie heard the non-stopping ringing of her doorbell, and sighed.</p><p>She took her time to clean her place on the table, hoping if he got too impatient, he'd stop ringing the bell. But of course, Charlie wondered how little she knew of Sirius.</p><p>She opened the door and glared at the grinning boy.</p><p>"One of these days, you're going to break my doorbell and I'll drag you from your house to pay for it."</p><p>He grinned even more. "No need to drag, I'll come willingly."</p><p>Charlie sighed but moved out of the way to let Sirius pass. He stopped next to her, his eyes glinting with mischief.</p><p>"Good morning" He sing sang, finally moving again.</p><p>" 'Morning Sirius."</p><p>He sat on the couch but would barely sit still. His grin seemed to get bigger and brighter by the second and it was becoming very hard for Charlie to stay mad at him.</p><p>She narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down. He was dressed in his usual clothes when he came around. Charlie had a big feeling that they were Remus' since they were clearly muggle. His short hair was slowly growing again after the cut Charlie was sure her mother gave it two weeks ago.</p><p>"What?" She finally asked, when she couldn't find anything suspicious about his attire. "Why are you smiling like that?"</p><p>He grinned, and removed a letter from his jean's pocket. Charlie immediately recognised it as a Hogwarts letter and ripped it from his hands. She had completely forgot to ask him about his exam results.</p><p>She had written to Rory as soon as she got hers, but since Sirius spent so much time around, she figured he'd eventually tell her.</p><p>She opened his letter, with him looking over her shoulder. She quickly glanced down to Herbology, and smiled.</p><p>"Congrats!" She said, shaking Sirius' arms. "You got your A!"</p><p>He grinned even more. "I did! Thanks to you of course- and look! Look what Hatman wrote in the observations."</p><p>Charlie glanced down once more.</p><p>
  <em>A good improvement. However, needs more work on paying attention in class.</em>
</p><p>"You see that? I'm a 'good improvement'" Sirius inflated his chest, like a peacock, and smiled proudly at Charlie.</p><p>"Well, he also said-"</p><p>"Who cares what more he said?" He said, taking the letter from Charlie's hands. "This was enough for me- and for my uncle Alphard! He's taking me to the Quidditch World Cup! For a whole week!"</p><p>Charlie's eyes widen. "A whole week? In Australia? Just you two?"</p><p>Sirius grinned and nodded his head. "I mean , my brother is also coming but I prefer him to my parent's coming. Without them there I can always just tell him to shut up."</p><p>Charlie solemnly nodded. "I get it." She sighed. "Well, then. Since you did so good in Herbology, how about I give you a reward by teaching you to work a tv?"</p><hr/><p>"It's just stupid!" Charlie complained. Henry nodded, never taking his eyes from the quidditch gear he was cleaning. "They know Pauline's parents. She lives in small village; her house alone has more security measures than the British Ministry of Magic. I mean, even Jenkins doesn't think this is that bad, why is she freaking out?"</p><p>"Who?"</p><p>"My mum-"</p><p>"No, Jenkins who?"</p><p>Charlie gave him a pointed look. "Eugenia Jenkins. She's the Minister."</p><p>Henry furrowed his brow, still not looking from his esteemed broom. "I thought Wilson was minister."</p><p>Charlie sighed, "That's the muggle one. Henry come one, I'm trying to talk to you and you're barely listening."</p><p>"Well, maybe if you ever talked about something else-"</p><p>"Well, how can I? It's so unfair! I mean, Aunt Beatrice is letting you go to Australia for two weeks without any real adults but <em>I </em>can't go to France, where I'm surrounded by adults?"</p><p>"Hey! Adults are coming-"</p><p>"An 18-year-old doesn't count as an adult in my book, Henry."</p><p>"Well, it counts in mine. Plus, it's the quidditch World Cup! I'll be surrounded by adults, and aurors and all that shit. You'll be alone with your friends as Pauline's parents go to work."</p><p>Charlie scowled. "Shut up. How is that so different from what I do here?"</p><p>Henry shrugged, while carefully removing some unbend vines.</p><p>"I kind off see your point." He said. "If all my friends were reunited without me and having fun in France, I'd go bonkers too."</p><p>"Exactly! And Luana already said she's going so it'll be just me here alone while they're having fun."</p><p>"Have you told Uncle Charles that yet?"</p><p>"I tried- but he says he agrees with whatever my mum says."</p><p>Henry snorted. "Typical." The two heard a shattering noise from down the hall.</p><p>"Annie! What was that?" Henry yelled.</p><p>There was a small paused.</p><p>"Nothing." They heard her say in a small voice. Henry cursed and got up. Before he left the room, he turned to Charlie.</p><p>"Just ask your dad again. You know he can't resist your ugly puppy eyes."</p><p>"They're not ugly!"</p><p>"Sure." She heard him say.</p><p>Charlie huffed, but followed.</p><p>In the kitchen, Anne was trying to stuff the remaining of a vase under the couch, as Henry and Charlie silently watched from the entry. Eventually, Henry cleared his throat, making Anne turning to him, like a deer caught int headlights.</p><p>Henry calmly pointed to a door in the kitchen. "The broom is in there. Make sure to catch every little bit."</p><p>Anne huffed, but swiftly moved to it. Henry sighed and went to move the couch. Charlie, now bored out of her mind, decided to get a glass of water. She even preferred to have Sirius around right now, then to be stuck at Aunt Beatrice's house for the entire day. Especially since Henry would probably just spend the entire day caressing his broom.</p><p>In the kitchen. Charlie tried not to smile as she saw Anne struggle to get the broom from the dark cupboard. She silently came behind her, and reached for the little cord in the low ceiling. Light suddenly poured in the cupboard, and her sister ,muttered a 'thank you'.</p><p>Walking to the fridge to get cold water, Charlie blinked as she saw what was stuck to it.</p><p>"Blimey Henry, are these your OWL's?" She asked, moving the magnet that held the parchment to look at it better.</p><p>
  <em>Care of Magical Creatures- EE</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Charms- A</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Divination- A</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Defence Against the Dark Arts- EE</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Potions- O</em>
</p><p>
  <em>History of Magic- A</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Transfiguration- O</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Astronomy- A</em>
</p><p>Charlie hated to say it, but she was impressed. She barely saw Henry study for them, and she knew they weren't his first priority. Still, to get two EE and two O's was no easy fit.</p><p>"Yeah." She heard him yell from his room. She returned the paper to its previous place and went to his room. He was, once again, looking at his broom.</p><p>"I thought you said you didn't care about your OWL's?" She asked as she sat on his bed.</p><p>He snorted. "Yes well, try to say those words to McGonagall. She pretty much threatened me to study." He paused. "Still, I guess I should be grateful. Mum was so happy, she said she's going to buy me some new gear for quidditch."</p><p>"Hmm." Charlie muttered, "So, back to our previous topic-" Henry groaned.</p><p>"You've got to be shitting me! Do you really have nothing else to say?"</p><p>"Well, I'm annoyed! You said it yourself, it sucks that your friends reunited, and you had to stay behind- especially since Pauline is thinking of inviting some of our old friends from Beauxbâtons." She paused. "Well, '<em>friends'</em> is an exaggeration, more like acquaintances."</p><p>"Hmm." Henry hummed, still polishing the handle of his broom.</p><p>Charlie whined. "It's not fair! I already missed Pauline's birthday last year! And I this year it would be two whole weeks! In France!" She sighed. "She already has everything planned, she's so excited to have friends over."</p><p>"What did she plan?"</p><p>Charlie huffed. "There's a small muggle town close to her house. She wanted to go to it a bit. Especially with us, since we can explain to her better about muggle things. She wanted to go to the cinema there. And Luana said she wanted to go to the beach- why I don't know, the water has to be freezing now- but you know how she is." Charlie sighed. "I just hope she's doing well."</p><p>Henry's entire body shifted towards Charlie; his brow furrowed. His broom lay next to him, ignored for a second. "What do you mean?"</p><p>Charlie glanced at her fingers. "Well, 'Line and I thought that, you know, going home might be hard for her. It's going to be the first time she'll be home without her dad around. And for so long too." She sighed. "I'm just glad she said she'd come."</p><p>Henry hummed, his eyes turning to the window. He seemed more tense now, and Charlie guessed he hadn't thought about the possibility much-if at all.</p><p>He sighed and got up. He yawned loudly and stretched his body. His arms fell and hit his tight rather hard.</p><p>"Well," He said, "Want to go to the cinema? The closer one has half a price for anyone under 12- so both you and Annie can get in with the price of one." He grinned.</p><p>Charlie glared at him. "I'm not 12."</p><p>"Put your hair in pigtails and you'll look 12. Now come on, I'm not paying extra for your ticket."</p><hr/><p>"-So, you see dad, that's why it's so important for me to go there." Charlie finished, making puppy eyes to her dad, who was still munching on a bagel.</p><p>Charlie had finally got him before he went to work, and waited no time in trying to sound as desperate as she really felt.</p><p>Her father considered her words as he slowly chewed. After swallowing he asked,</p><p>"And what did your mother say?" He took his final bite of the bagel.</p><p>Charlie bit her lip. "She said no." She muttered. Her dad opened his mouth, certainly to say that if Catherine said no then it was no, when Charlie interrupted.</p><p>"But since she isn't the boss of you, and your marriage is a partnership, I wanted to ask you too. After all, no parent should just make such a decision without consulting the other. I even find it a bit worrying that mum did without even getting your opinion, dad." She tried.</p><p>Her dad stared at her for a bit, and suddenly pointed his waggling finger at her. "You," He said, his voice a bit muffled from the bits of bagel still in his mouth, "Would make a great lawyer. Are you sure this wizardy-thing is what you want?" He asked, while dusting his shirt for any crumps, and checking his appearance in the reflection of the toaster.</p><p>She sighed. She knew it was a long shot of that working. Both her parents knew perfectly well all techniques of persuasion that there was ( especially since they used such for a living).</p><p>"Yes, dad, I'm sure."</p><p>"Hmm, just checking." He mused, while fixing his tie. "Still, sweetheart, I'm sorry. But you know when it comes to that side of matter, your mother's decisions are final. If she says it's dangerous, then I'll side with it." He turned to her; his eyes sympathetic to her cause. "We can always invite them later in the summer, to make up for past time."</p><p>Charlie scowled, "Well, it's not the same, now is it? Luana will get to be with Pauline during her birthday and I'll be stuck here hoping they can make it here on the last 2 weeks of vacations," She breathed out of her nose, "Guess I'll just stay locked out here all day by myself as always."</p><p>Her father gave her a pointed look. "You're not alone, your sister's here and you can always invite Henry over."</p><p>Her scowled deepened. "It's not the same! Anne barely leaves her room and Henry has his own friends to entertain him." She sighed. She knew her father wouldn't particularly get it, since he got to go anywhere he wanted at her age. "Whatever, have a nice day at work, dad." She said, quickly climbing the stairs to her room.</p><p>She hated getting worked up like this, especially since she just felt like a small child throwing a tantrum.</p><p>But in the end, what more could she do? Neither her parents grew up like this. Her mother had Aunt Marie, a twin sister who she could spent all day with, and cousins that would visit all the time. And her father could always do whatever he pleased as a child, for as long as he behaved by Grandpa's Mark's rules.</p><p>But Anne never minded being home all day, mostly sleeping and seeing tv, and Charlie couldn't always be calling Henry to give her company. In the end it was always her, alone in her room, with only Yaris for company.</p><p>But even Yaris wasn't around at the moment, she was delivering letters. And of course, Charlie's parents didn't exactly know Sirius stopped by almost every day, but even that would come to an end when in 2 weeks he'd go to the Quidditch World Cup, and then to James'.</p><p>She laid in her bed, too mentally tired to decide on anything to do. Truly, all she wanted to do was sleep the entire day away, but since it was morning, it would be hard.</p><p>Instead she laid there for a while. It was an hour after she heard her father leave that she finally moved to her desk.</p><p>Weirdly enough, she wished Sirius would stop by today. Even if he didn't talk about much more than quidditch these days, with the World Cup so close, or muggle technology, he was still company and always managed to make Charlie laugh.</p><p>But apparently today one of his cousin's was getting married, and so he wouldn't show up for the next few days.</p><p>She sighed and decided to finish the last bit of homework she had. It truly is sad that, only 2 weeks into her summer vacations, she had already finished most of her homework.</p><p>All she was missing was arithmancy, which of course, took all morning. By lunch time, she could barely see any more numbers.</p><p>The afternoon ticked painfully slow. Her sister was in the living room watching cartoons, so she tried to read a bit. Still bored, she tried drawing, something she was terrible at, and painting. After that, she tried to write anything just to use to type writer her father got her. She ended up writing a list of movies to see: both new and old.</p><p>It was by 4pm that she realised she didn't have more to do.</p><p>She wasn't tired, but she decided to try and sleep anyway. After all, there was only so much to do, even chores weren't around to be made, since her mother used magic to complete them to the way she liked as she waited for Charlie's dad to arrive.</p><p>She closed her eyes and stayed like that for a long time. The window was open, and from outside she heard the sounds of cars go by, people politely chatting, and eventually, Yaris' chirp.</p><p>Charlie didn't open her eyes to see Yaris come in and drop a letter in her desk. She knew the drill by now: she'd walk in, drop the letter, head to her open cage where she could rest, drink and eat. </p><p>The last letter Charlie sent was for Luana, so the trip must have been extra long for Yaris. Charlie was sure the owl would sleep until tomorrow.</p><p>The letter too, had no rush. Luana would probably be talking of Charlie thought she should take, so they could wake Pauline up. Right now, Charlie really didn't feel like answering.</p><p>Charlie wasn't sure when she finally fell asleep, she just remembered being shook awake. The room was dark, and the air from the window was colder than before. Next to her bed, was her mum.</p><p>It must have been really late, since her mum was already out of her work clothes and into something more casual. Her hair was loose, the blond waves looking like silk over her shoulders. Charlie was sure her own hair looked like a bird's nest right now.</p><p>"Wha-" She tried, but her voice was raspy and thick with sleep. Her mother caressed her cheek.</p><p>"We called you for dinner, but you didn't answer." She said softly. Her hand reached to Charlie's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" She paused, "You don't feel hot." She removed her hand from Charlie's forehead, moving it again to her cheek.</p><p>Charlie shrugged. "Just tired. I'll be down in a bit." Her mum nodded, kissed her forehead and left the room.</p><p>Charlie stood there for a while, trying to remember what day it was, and trying to rid herself of the laziness she felt after her nap. She could hear faint whispers a few rooms down, and a door being closed.</p><p>After a few minutes, Charlie blinked and finally got up. Her body was still feeling soft and moving slowly, but she was hungry.</p><p>After dinner, which was spent by dad talking about his theory of his boss skipping work to go put hair implants, Charlie went back to her room.</p><p>She felt even more dull inside when she realised, she once more had nothing to do. Her mind was far more awake now after the nap, and she doubted she could fall asleep as it is.</p><p>Sighed, she grabbed her book and sat on the bed.</p><p>It was an hour after that she heard a soft knock on her door. She muttered a "What" before the door opened.</p><p>As both her parents entered, looking as serious as ever, she panicked as she tried to remember if she did something stupid.</p><p>A feeling of dread washed over her as she thought of Sirius. Had her sister snitched? Or did they find anything of his that he forgot? Charlie knew how much her mother disliked some of his relatives, especially his dad, so she never told them he came around. Her mum would probably think he was sent by his father to spy on any paper of the Wizgamont her mother kept in her office.</p><p>She tried to keep her face neutral as her parents closed the door.</p><p>"Your father told me what you said today." Her mother started and Charlie's mind railed. Did she slip? Or where they talking about France?</p><p>"About what?" She asked, deciding to play it safe.</p><p>Her mother sighed and sat next to her in bed. Her father too sat in the bed, closer to the end. Seeing them relaxed made Charlie breath in relief. If it was about sneaking Sirius in, they would have been too mad to sit.</p><p>"About staying home all day." Her mother sighed, "I guess I can see your point. There is only so much you can do for 3 months..." Her mother trailed, looking at her dad.</p><p>Charlie's dad looked a bit awkward, as if he wasn't used to being present in conversations like these.</p><p>"So, we've decided that, with some rules and conditions, you may go to France."</p><p>Charlie grinned, trying really hard not to squeal. "Really?" She asked, slightly jumping in her place.</p><p>Her mother sighed. "Yes, really."</p><p>Charlie hold on as hard as she could, but ended up squealing in delight and hugging her mother.</p><p>"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll behave super well, I promise!" She said rapidly, moving to hug her dad too. Her dad chuckled and patted her back.</p><p>"Now, hold on, there's conditions." He said.</p><p>Charlie let go of both her parents and tried to look serious. But her mind didn't care about any of it, she was still riding the high of being able to go. She'd have to write to Pauline! And Luana! And she'd have to get so many things-</p><p>"First off, you have to have all your homework done." Her mother started, "And this room clean to perfection, and I mean it, Charlotte." She said, looking serious.</p><p>"You have to bring something for your sister," Her father added, "And write every day."</p><p>"And an adult must always be around."</p><p>Charlie nodded, already making a mental note on what to pack.</p><p>"And more importantly, for the remaining of the summer, you stay home." Her mother finished, "I know you don't like it, but by Merlin, Charlotte if you knew how truly bad the situation is- especially with Jenkins not doing anything..." Her mother took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "We're allowing you to go only because Pauline's parents are both aware of how hard it is everything right now, and because France is still safe. But when you're back here, I'd feel much better knowing you, and your sister, were here safe at home." She finished. Charlie nodded.</p><p>She really didn't want to be stuck at home all of August, but getting 2 weeks in France was worth a whole month of boredom.</p><p>"Alright then." Her mother gave the smallest of smiles. "Best write to Pauline."</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm back! I still have some important stuff to finish, so I can't promise this will last, but for now, here's an update! The next update will be on the 23rd of January. </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 18- 𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I think it's needless to say for you to have fun." Her father said, as he saw her quickly rushed to stuff her toothbrush in her over-packed bag.</p><p>Charlie grinned, going to hug her dad.</p><p>"Thank you!" She squealed, drawling out the 'u'. Her dad chuckled and hugged her back.</p><p>"Just promise me you'll behave. Magic or not, you're going to a friend's house and I hope you remember to behave."</p><p>"I always behave." She argued back.</p><p>"I don't see why I can't go too." Charlie heard her sister argue from her seat on the table. "Pauline likes me, I'm sure she'll love it if I show up."</p><p>Charlie scowled. "Don't you have your own friends to go annoy?"</p><p>"Charlotte..." She heard her father reprehend.</p><p>Charlie huffed, but didn't say anything else. She decided just to hug her dad goodbye as she heard her mother called for her.</p><p>He kissed her head, and discreetly slid 10£ in her hand. Charlie eyes widened when she saw the money.</p><p>"Dad-"</p><p>"Don't worry about it. Exchange it if you can for some francs. It'd might change into..." He paused, looking into the air, making mental maths. "Around 100 french francs? Yes, something like that." He smiled at her. "Bring me some pudding if you can, and your sister something." He gave her a pointed look.</p><p>Charlie grinned and nodded her head. She squeezed her dad once more, before grabbing her huge bag and running to her mother's home office.</p><p>Inside, was her mother on her working clothes, hair pinned to her head, watching her watch.</p><p>"Come on, now, who knows how long this will take." She huffed.</p><p>The two stepped into the fireplace, and her mother threw the powder. The green flames coiled them and soon, Charlie was in the Ministry.</p><p>Last time Charlie was here, she was 5 and her mother brought her to work. Back then, Charlie mostly played with some workers in her mother's department.</p><p>But now, Charlie saw many differences. Even if the atmosphere itself wasn't heavy, and there was a big lack of security, everyone seemed on edge. It was like two opposite ideas, fighting each other for control: The Minister's ideas of 'everything is fine' and everyone else's worried thoughts of the growing war.</p><p>Charlie felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, and silently followed her. Every now and then, some people would pass by them and nod their heads to her mother, who would also nod, and some even stopped to chit chat about whatever her mother was working on right now.</p><p>Charlie tried to patiently wait, but she felt like this was all a test to see how much patience she had. In a matter of minutes, she would go to France, to her friends, to have 2 weeks of pure fun, and yet here she was, waiting for a conversation on old laws being revised to end.</p><p>Finally, the man left, and her mother directed her pass the security check. Since she didn't have her wand ( her mother would never allow her to bring it to France), all they did was briefly check her bag for any charms.</p><p>In general, Charlie as sure she could have a bomb in there and they wouldn't care much. Maybe her mum was right when she said Jenkins didn't take the war seriously in the slightest.</p><p>They headed quickly for the elevator, which was already full. Charlie had a vague memory of it, and thankfully remembered to grab anything she could.</p><p>They made some stops along the way, but quickly arrived at the sixth floor. Her mother left first, with Charlie trying to control her stomach after the trip. She just hoped she wouldn't have to use a portkey, since the puked the last time she had to.</p><p>Her mother seemed familiar with the Department of Magical Transportation, and navigated both of them to, thankfully, the office of the floo network Authority.</p><p>Inside, there was an endless number of fireplaces, with witches and wizards with their ears close to it. Some fireplaces were free, and were occasionally light up for travels. In the centre of the room, were desks. Most were still empty, and others were filled with workers dealing with the bureaucracy side of the magical transportation.</p><p>Charlie cringed when she heard a howler go off, about a witch angry about her floo network being cut.</p><p>Her mother made a b-line to one of the offices, and knocked. After a faint 'enter' she opened the door.</p><p>"Basil, I'm so sorry we're late." Her mother said to the man inside. A young man appeared, most likely a bit younger than her mother. He grinned.</p><p>"Not a problem! Anything for the person who got me out of the Portkey office. Let me tell you, with the World Cup, everyone there is working extra hours- I really did choose a bad time to ask for a transfer." He chuckled, leading them down the room of fireplaces. "Speaking of, I see you requested a portkey for Australia, didn't take you one for quidditch, Mrs. Ellis." He said.</p><p>Charlie's mum shook her head. "It's for my nephew. Apparently, there's such a big demand that there's a waiting list. He was hoping that if it was me asking, that it might speed things along."</p><p>Basil hummed. "Yes, I'll should think so too. Mr. Al-Fassi speaks so highly of you, Mrs. Ellis, I'm surprised you still don't have it!"</p><p>"Well, I'm just glad it'll come in time, especially with this network connection, so rushed-"</p><p>"Ah, it's no trouble- if it was a muggle house then it might be worse- but a pureblood family it's easy- no matter the country."</p><p>"Well, it's good to know it isn't much of a trouble. Please give my thanks to Mr. Al-Fassi, and tell him if he ever needs anything-"</p><p>"Sure will!" Basil replied, stopping by an empty fireplace. He waved his wand a bit, muttering something. A few seconds later, he perked up again.</p><p>"All done! Just need you to confirm me the destination." He paused and looked into his wand, he waved it and an address appeared. "Roux' Manoir, 12-34 Allée du Trier-Têtu, 17110 Meschers-sur-Gironde, France." He said, in the worse French Charlie had ever heard. He looked at them and Charlie nodded.</p><p>He grinned and allowed Charlie to stepped in.</p><p>"All you need to say in Roux' Manoir, the fireplace will direct you to the one I just said." He said, but Charlie barely heard him. Her gaze locked with her mother's, who seemed to be trying to smile and cry at the same time. She stepped forward, and hugged Charlie.</p><p>"Be safe. And for Merlin's sake, <em>behave.</em>" She whispered. Charlie squeezed her mother extra hard, and nodded into her neck. Her mum sighed, her hand going to caress Charlie's hair.</p><p>She let her go and fumbled with her bag. From it, she removed 30 galleons and handed them to Charlie, who decided to keep quiet on how much she got from her father as well.</p><p>"Here." She said, a smile in her face. "Don't forget to get your sister something too. And if I'm not wrong, you didn't give Henry anything for his birthday." She gave her a pointed look.</p><p>Charlie sighed. "Fine." She grinned. "Bye mum." She said as she grabbed some powder.</p><p>Her mother waved as Charlie threw the powder at the small flame at her feet.</p><p>"Roux' Manoir!"</p><p>She closed her eyes, but could still she the flashes of green. The trip took longer than usual, mostly likely because it was another country all together, but soon Charlie landed in a huge fireplace, in an enormous room.</p><p>The room very much reminded Charlie of Versailles. The room was rectangular, seeming bigger than it probably was, with old furniture around. The ceiling was high, and the walls, had 3 fireplaces on each side of the room. Between each fireplace, was a huge window, giving the room a crazy amount of natural light. The baby pink in the walls just made it look better.</p><p>"Hmm." Charlie heard. Her head snapped to a portrait on the far wall from her. It was a man, dressed in what seemed 1600's clothing. "A guest arrived. Stay there." He said in a broken English. He quickly left, and Charlie was alone in the big room.</p><p>If this was just the fireplace room, Charlie couldn't even imagine the rest of the house. No wonder Pauline complained so much in being an only child. With a house like this, Charlie expect a hoard of children around.</p><p>Faints hurried steps could be heard, and a second later the big doors were opened. There, stood Pauline, wearing a floral summer dress. She squealed and grinned, running to hug Charlie, who just laughed and embraced her best friend.</p><p>"I'm so glad you could come! Me and Lu were so worried when you said you might not make it, it wouldn't the same without you." She said, letting go of Charlie. "Come on, I'll show you the house. I was thinking of us staying in my room, but if you guys prefer each to have their own room, it's fine as well-" She trailed, leading Charlie out of the room.</p><p>The whole house was styled similar to the room Charlie first arrived at. The house was all painted in different pastel colours, with portraits of old relatives, as far as 1150, spreading throughout the house. Thankfully, most kept to themselves, as talking portraits was something Charlie absolutely hated in the wizarding world. She was very glad her dad was too freaked out to have any in the house.</p><p>Pauline led her to the centre of the house, where the main stairs were, and was planning on showing her room, when they heard a crash from outside.</p><p>Running to the nearest window, they saw someone had planted face first in one of the many bushes outside. Neither needed to look much to guess who it was, the messy curly hair and old shoes gave it away.</p><p>They both ran outside, just as Luana managed to jump from the bush. Her face held a few cuts from it. She also seemed to gain some more weight she had lost in the beginning of the year, looking healthier than before.</p><p>Still, Charlie noticed she looked sadder, the smile she gave them looked like it hurt, as if she didn't smile much during the few time apart.</p><p>" You two better not have started the party without me." She said, just has Pauline collided with her.</p><p>"Oh, we only exploded with 3 rooms, left plenty more for you." Charlie replied lazily, arriving next to her and hugging the two girls.</p><p>"Only 3? I'm disappointed. By now I'd expected to be helping you hide a body in these woods." She mused.</p><p>"There's plenty of time for that later." Pauline replied, ending the hug to grin at Luana. "Come on, I was just about to show Charlie my room!" She turned to the house, patiently waited for the girls to follow.</p><p>Luana slowly followed as she took the outside of the house. "Only one room, Line? Sad, the other's must keep the beheaded heads of your relatives from the revolution, no?" She replied, throwing her right arm in the air, signifying to the house, "I mean, how didn't the townspeople not burn this down? It's like a mini-Versailles!" She turned to Pauline, looking serious, "If I were you I wouldn't mention cakes around them."</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face didn't waver. "Keep talking and I'll bring the guillotine from the attic, give the townspeople a show to look at."</p><p>Luana grinned, but her eyes still looked sad. "Now <em>that </em>is more like it!" She sighed, as she entered the house, "Oh, we'll have so much fun!"</p><p>The three quickly ran up the stairs and arrived at Pauline's room.</p><p>Compared to some of the other rooms, it seemed barer, which just made the size of it more obvious. Pauline's bed stood between two windows that, in a closer inspection, were also balconies. The bed itself was enormous, and it could easily fit the three of them.</p><p>Next to the door, sat a vanity table, filled with nail polish and make up. To their left, the entire wall was the doors to Pauline's wardrobe, all colour coded, and to the far right, was a big desk and a door. The door, apparently, was a private bathroom.</p><p>"Christ, this is the size of my pigsty." Luana said.</p><p>"Shut up." Pauline muttered as the girls walked in. Pauline immediately sat in her desk, keeping an watchful eye over them. "So," She finally said, "You can each have your own rooms, or share with me."</p><p>Luana snorted. "I think I'll be too scare to stay in a room by myself if they're all this size."</p><p>Pauline looked at Charlie, who nodded in agreement. Pauline grinned, "Okay then! I'll ask my mum to put two beds in here when she arrives."</p><p>"Yes, where is your mum, by the way?" Luana asked, as she looked over Pauline's nail polish collection, "Because a little birdie told me someone isn't allowed to be 5 meters away from an adult."</p><p>Charlie sighed, "I hate you."</p><p>"If you truly hated me, then you shouldn't have told me." She grinned.</p><p>"She's shopping. She really likes to buy the food from the muggle's supermarket nearby. Says it's very interesting to see some of the weird foods from all over the world."</p><p>Luana hummed, "That reminds me, I'm going to make something special to you idiots. My cousin from the north came and did it for us."</p><p>Charlie and Pauline shared a look. They loved Luana, but she wasn't exactly known for being the best cook. Charlie happened to glance once at one of the books her grandmother had given her with Portuguese recipes- and from Luana explained, there was no real measurements, it was all very abstract. '<em>You put as much as you think it might need. Maybe a bit more'</em> , Luana had replied when Charlie pointed this out. The ideal didn't exactly reassure her.</p><p>"Oh!" Luana suddenly said, grabbing her bag, "That reminds me- my mum sent something for you guys." She said, "We had it last night- my mum has crazy connects to get it this cheap- and I mention neither of you ever had it so..." She trailed and pulled a plastic bag from inside.</p><p>Opening the plastic bag, she took a Tupperware, and opened the lid. The girls peered in, and Charlie's eyebrow quirked.</p><p>"You do realise I've had fish before, right?"</p><p>Luana huffed. "It's codfish. Trust me, you never had it like this."</p><p>Charlie doubt it very much she'd like it. Still, she smiled.</p><p>"Can't wait."</p><hr/><p>"Don't move!"</p><p>"You don't move!"</p><p>"Stop talking, a can barely tell where your face is!"</p><p>With her eyes closed, Charlie grabbed what she hoped was lipstick and tried to find Luana's lips. At the same time, she felt a small brush on her eyelids, as Pauline tried to paint her eyes.</p><p>On paper, putting each other's make up while not seeing seemed fun, but in reality ended up just being a big mess. She had already lost count how many times she accidentally almost stabbed Luana's eye.</p><p>Plus, it didn't help that they were either talking, or giggling the entire time.</p><p>Charlie was painting what she assumed were Luana's teeth, when she heard a knock on the door. Immediately, they all opened their eyes, and looked to the door. There, stood Pauline's mother.</p><p>Charlie always thought Pauline looked a lot like her mother. She had her red hair, even if her mother's was wavy, and her freckles. But Mrs. Roux was way taller than Pauline, and her eyes were amber. She had a smile on as she watched the girls.</p><p>"Hi, Mrs. Roux" Luana tried, trying not to pretend she wasn't trying to paint her daughter's collarbone blue.</p><p>"Hi, Luana, Charlotte. How are you girls? Did you arrive well?" She asked. Both girls nodded, a bit too awkward. It was always awkward meeting someone's parents, and Charlie never had many interactions with Pauline's parents ( But at least she knew them, something she couldn't say about Luana's mother).</p><p>"That's great! I brought you girls some things for your sleepovers. The muggles have the funniest candies, but I also got you girls some wizard ones." She replied, looking over each girl. Her lips seemed to quirk even more as she looked at Pauline.</p><p>"Thank you, Mrs. Roux."</p><p>She sighed, "I've told you two there's no need for such formalities. Alida is fine."</p><p>Luana grinned, "Sure thing, Mrs. Roux."</p><p>Pauline's mother sighed once more, but she was smiling. "You girls..." She trailed. She turned to look at them once more as she got ready to leave. Her amber eyes seemed to shine. "Have fun!"</p><p>As the door closed, Luana turned to Pauline. "Your mum is too nice. If she keeps buying us candy, I might just move in."</p><p>"That's fine, but you're sleeping outside."</p><hr/><p>Two days after, they went to the beach. Pauline's parents had bought some bicycles, so they could easily move around in the village, and Charlie never felt freer.</p><p>It was such a great feeling; to wake up in the morning, grab the bicycles and get to go anywhere nearby.</p><p>They hadn't explored the village close-by yet. The woods surrounding Pauline's house were so big that they actually got lost there. It was thanks to Luana's great sense of navigation that they eventually manage to arrive back.</p><p>Charlie looked around the beach. It was barely 9 am, but people were arriving steadily. Next to her, Luana seemed to snore lightly, under the shade of the parasol she managed to dig into the ground. Next to her, Pauline was spreading some sunscreen on her legs. Their bikes were in the parking lot, safely locked.</p><p>Pauline slapped Luana's stomach, who groaned annoyed.</p><p>"T'was that 'bout?" She slurred.</p><p>Pauline gave her a pointed look. "Put some sunscreen, you're the only one missing."</p><p>Luana snorted. "Sunscreen is for people not used to being out in the sun. don't worry about me." She replied, slowly getting up.</p><p>She had forgotten to bring a bathing suit, so she borrowed one of Pauline's. Thankfully, it was a bikini, or else Charlie had no idea how it would fit Luana.</p><p>"Come on" She said, "Since I'm already awake, might as well go to the water."</p><p>Charlie hummed. "I'm not a great swimmer."</p><p>Luana looked personally offended by that.</p><p>"Not a great- Get up! I'll teach you how to swim myself."</p><p>"Oh, I'll certainly drown now."</p><p>"Don't make me drag you." Luana warned, waving a finger at Charlie's direction.</p><p>Charlie, knowing full well Luana was capable of such, sighed and got up. Pauline too got up.</p><p>"If it's too cold then I'm not going." She said.</p><p>Luana shook her head.</p><p>"Cowards. I'm surrounded by cowards. No water is ever true cold! No matter what, you go in! You persevere!" She said.</p><p>She was the first to go to the water. As a big wave came, wetting her to the knees, she quickly ran back.</p><p>"Never mind." She said, trying to wipe her lower legs. "That shit's colder than the arctic."</p><p>Pauline furrowed her brows, an inquisitive look in her face. "What about persevering?"</p><p>Luana scoffed, "At some point even I admit when an idea is bad. No water back home is that cold! What, do you French just stick ice cubes in there every day?"</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes and grabbed Luana's arm. "Come on, you baby, I'll go with you."</p><p>She sniffled for effect. "Thank you."</p><p>Luana was right, the water was incredibly cold. But Charlie was planning on giving shit about it to Luana later, so she took a deep breath and pretended not to feel the coldness.</p><p>They stayed there for around 15 minutes. Charlie was sure she couldn't feel her legs anymore, but once Luana got used to the temperature, she didn't want to leave. She also tried to teach Charlie how to float, but Charlie argued back, saying that there were too many waves and that she didn't want to snort some salt water up her nose.</p><p>"Alright then," Luana said, as they walked back, "How about a sandcastle? With a pool?" She grinned, her eyes shining.</p><p>Turns out Luana's ideas of castle had nothing to do with how Charlie was used to see. There was no use of a bucket in the form of a castle, but a lot of digging. She didn't go very deep, deciding in digging in a bigger space. Eventually, water started to appear, making the 'pool' she wanted.</p><p>On a corner, she tried to stack the sand as vertically as possible, beating the sand a lot. She also made thick walls around the pool, so the sea water would have a harder time destroying it. The walls were impressive, as they were thick and compact, a result of Luana hitting the sand so much.</p><p>She collected shells to make windows and even somehow a balcony. She gathered a small quantity of sand from the deep of her pool in her hand, and let the sand, filled with water, drip over certain parts of her castle.</p><p>Charlie had never seen this technique before, but it made pretty columns, a nice way to decorate the castle that, before, just looked like a big mountain.</p><p>"Where did you learn all this?" Charlie asked, as she helped Pauline do the walls as Luana taught them.</p><p>"I live by the beach. I spent most of my summers there, my mum loves the beach. Plus-" She paused to look over her work, "-My dad was great at making sandcastles. He thought me all I know." She finished. Her voice was distant, as if trapped in a memory, but not exactly sad.</p><p>Pauline looked around the castle, and the hole Luana made around it, and intended to connect to the pool.</p><p>"How are people supposed to get to the castle?" She asked.</p><p>Charlie snorted, "Who's going, ants?"</p><p>"You know what I mean."</p><p>"I'm making a bridge, that's why I haven't opened the canal yet."</p><p>Both Pauline and Charlie watched in amusement, as Luana shoved her arm in the hole, and threw sand over it. Every time she did, she'd slap it. Over a lot of sand was thrown, no matter how much Luana moved her arm under it, the sand wouldn't move. She carefully removed her arm, and some sand on the sides fell to the hole. But most all of it, stayed in place, creating a bridge.</p><p>Pauline tsked, "If only you put this much effort on your homework..."</p><p>"You sound like my mother."</p><p>"Well, I mother you enough to at least be given an honorary title."</p><p>"I'll honour you some other way." Luana replied, finishing her castle, "How about naming my big toe after you?"</p><p>" What an honour." Pauline replied drily. She looked around, ignoring some boys who were trying to catch their attention, and looked into the distance. "There's a café there, do you guys want some ice creams?"</p><p>"I only brought 10 francs, and I promised I get something to my mum." Luana said, her eyes closed as she soaked in the sun rays.</p><p>"You say that as if Charlie isn't paying anyway."</p><p>"Wait-" Charlie interrupted, "Why me?"</p><p>"I don't know how to handle muggle money."</p><p>" A lame excuse, in my opinion." Luana pipped in.</p><p>"Hush."</p><p>The three slowly got up and walked to the café. There weren't many choices in ice creams, so unlike the little cafés in Diagon Alley, so they all settle for a simple one.</p><p>The afternoon was amazing, and they all giggled as they struggled to bike back to the Manoir.</p><p>The next morning, Luana woke up to the biggest sunburn Charlie had ever seen, so they decided to stay home until one of her parents would cast something on her.</p><hr/><p>As Tuesday rolled around the girls grabbed their bikes and headed to the town close by. Since it was summer, more shops were opened than usual. For Charlie, it was entertaining watching Pauline's face, who was never allowed to visit the town on her own, light up in curiosity as they passed the different stores.</p><p>For Charlie, it was a great excuse to wear her tennis skirt, and her new pearl earrings. She felt like her baby pink t-shirt didn't fit as well with the rest, but she didn't have many summer clothes appropriate for the French weather.</p><p>They spent all day shopping around, and even gad lunch in a café nearby.</p><p>They all found something funny about the town: Pauline liked to watch the muggles go by and see what was in style in the muggle world at the moment. Luana enjoyed chatting up random tourists they would meet every so often.</p><p>And Charlie basked in the heat, having missed the summer weather of France.</p><p>By 2pm , after lounging around in a Park, they decided to do some shopping. Pauline bought some new shoes and Charlie got some muggle candies for her sister.</p><p>"I need to get Henry something too, his birthday was in June."</p><p>Luana looked back at Charlie, her eyes wide.</p><p>"What?" She asked, sounded offended, "And no one told me? So he gets to embarrass me on my birthday but hides his so I can't do it back. Coward." She spit, her eyes narrowing.</p><p>"We were already out of school." Charlie replies.</p><p>Luana hummed. "Still doesn't forgive it." She paused," but I should get him something. After all he got me something."</p><p>Pauline snorted, "Yeah, a boring book about England."</p><p>"A book within my price range! Something you two lovelies couldn't even accomplish!" She defended.</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes but went with them.</p><p>"Still," Luana pouted " I don't know what to get him..." she trailed, "I know he likes quidditch-"</p><p>Charlie snorted, "No way!"</p><p>Luana ignored her "But all those things are a bit over my price range..." she counted the 8 francs left in her hand.</p><p>"You're fucked then." Pauline said, "I can't even think of something else other than quidditch that he likes that much."</p><p>Luana gave her a pointed look, " I also know he likes girls but it's not like I can ship him one, that's kidnapping!"</p><p>"You pretty much got him to a T, Lu." Charlie mused, "Quidditch and girls."</p><p>Luana scowled, "Shut up. I know he likes other things but not as much." She paused. "He likes cupcakes, but they'll get all squished up with the journey. And he likes dogs, but that's pretty inhumane, to send something living." She paused. "Okay, yes, maybe that's it."</p><p>Pauline nodded ardently, "Still know more than me, quidditch and girls is pretty much all I know, and I didn't even asked for half of that information."</p><p>Charlie looked around. "I guess we can get him some vinyl's. My dad got him a brand new vinyl player so I guess it can be a match."</p><p>Pauline's eyes lighten up. "Oh yes! My aunt showed me a new band the other day, and I think he'll really enjoy it-" Pauline kept ranting about the new band she heard off as they walked in a vinyl store player. Looking around, Charlie noticed Luana hadn't followed them and was nowhere around the street.</p><p>If it was someone else, Charlie might have been more concerned, but Luana could weirdly hold her own in a foreign city, as she noticed in previous years. She was resourceful enough to find her way back to them, plus she knew the language.</p><p>Charlie ended up picking an ABBA album while Pauline chose something from the band she wouldn't shut up about, KISS.</p><p>From what she said, it did seem like it was right up Henry's alley.</p><p>As they left, Charlie saw Luana leave a store a few doors down.</p><p>It seemed like a store to buy everyday necessaries, like dishes, and furniture. She couldn't possibly imagine when she went in there for.</p><p>But she was carrying a light blue envelope and seemed pretty content with her purchase.</p><p>"There!" She said, showing them the ordinary envelope.</p><p>"You're going to send him a happy birthday card?" Pauline asked, looking impressed. "A good choice, there's no going wrong with it."</p><p>Luana cringed. "You're right! I should have thought of that."</p><p>Charlie's eyes snapped to her face.</p><p>"If it's not a birthday card, then what's in the envelope?" She really hoped it wasn't something unnecessary. She knew Luana sometimes wasn't the best at giving gifts.</p><p>She preferred practical things for herself, and so, mostly thought people would too. Her best moments shined when she played really close attention to someone, and overheard something in a casual talk about anything they could want. But in the end, it was 50-50.</p><p>Maybe that's why she preferred to send candy or books to them.</p><p>Luana tried to give her a mysterious look, "You may never know!" She replied, closing the envelope and stuffing it in her back pocket.</p><p>They ended up getting ice cream and walking around for an hour before finally leaving at 5.</p><p>The ride home seemed harder than usual, especially since the small inclinations felt like it went on for kilometres on end.</p><p>Still, as she glanced around the trees, a breeze passing by her, Charlie wouldn't have had it any other way.</p><hr/><p>"Cannot believe you never told us you had a crush on Louis Dubois." Charlie replied, looking at Pauline with wide eyes.</p><p>She barely remembered Louis as it is. He was a nice kid, but he was on different groups from them. She mostly remembered him from that time he passed out in second year after a third tear student fell from a huge rock and opened her knee. To be fair, with the amount of screaming and blood, Charlie almost passed out too.</p><p>Charlie turned back to Pauline in time to see her playfully roll her eyes. Alas, no matter how much she pretended it wasn't a big deal, Charlie could see how red her cheeks still were.</p><p>"Because it didn't matter!" Pauline tried to defend herself, "It ended before we all became close friends and at that time, I was just embarrassed." She scrunched her nose "Specially after he drowned his chips on ice cream."</p><p>Luana laughed, her eyes wide "Oh yeah! I forgot about that day! It was so funny." She sighed. "I miss first year. Having detentions for slipping dung into Moreau's pillow, having you two trying to teach me French in a year so we could have more classes together, sneaking into each others dorms..." she mused.</p><p>Charlie smiled, her eyes now looking at the ceiling.</p><p>Technically, each were in their beds, but both Luana and Charlie pushed theirs to each side of Pauline's making almost an entire wall of bed.</p><p>"Guilaume following Charlie around just for her to kick him in the shin..." Pauline said, imitating Luana's tone.</p><p>Luana laughed as Charlie groaned.</p><p>"Don't remind me, he was so annoying."</p><p>"Truly, but his desperation was a bit funny." Luana started. "I used to make him do my charms homework for bits of information about you." She started to laugh. "One time I told him you really had a thing for elephants, so-" She laughed some more, "-The idiot read an entire book about them, and for two weeks straight-"</p><p>Charlie interrupted, a grin in her face, "He would come to me and just rant about them."</p><p>The girls laughed.</p><p>"Oh, I'll never forget his face- he'd come right behind you and say-" Luana pretended to push some glasses up her nose, "Did you know, that elephants can communicate through vibrations?"</p><p>"I swear, if I knew It was you who put him up to this, I would have ended his misery, I truly though he had a major thing for elephants."</p><p>"Well, you can always make Luana apologise- he's coming to my party." Pauline concluded.</p><p>Both Luana and Charlie turned to her.</p><p>"Who else is coming?"</p><p>"Well..." Her brows furrowed in thought. "Most of the boys from our old class-"</p><p>"Including Dubois?" Luana wiggled her eyebrows playfully.</p><p>Pauline sighed. "Yes, him too."</p><p>"Better hide the ice cream, then."</p><p>Charlie wacked Luana, and nodded at Pauline to continue.</p><p>"A girl named Aalis is also coming- she's a year younger- and a few friends of her too. Then..." She trailed again; her eyes focused ahead a she thought. "Alexandrine is coming, and so is Armande. Anette, Jutte, Lysken and Agnes too." She paused. "I think that's it. It's mostly just an adult party, trust me, it'll be boring." She smirked. "But at least you two will have to endure it with me."</p><p>"How nice of you, Line."</p><p>"Thank you." She grinned.</p><p>Luana sighed, getting up. "So, what did you want to show us?"</p><p>Pauline grinned and led them outside of her room.</p><p>The Roux Manoir, she explained as they walked, was incredibly old. Technically the foundations and the land had been under the Roux name since 1120, who by then were known as the Rouergue, but the house itself had been rebuilt after a rival wizardry family used the pretence of the Nine Year's War to burn it down. Her family used the opportunity to build an even bigger house, taking inspiration from the Versailles palace that was being built at the time.</p><p>To prevent any future accidents where family members die because of rivalry, her ancestor, Adaleus Rouergue, built a series of underground tunnels and secrets passages all throughout the house. So far, Pauline had found 15.</p><p>"So wait," Luana whispered, as they made their way to the library, "If he was named Rouergue, why is this called Roux' Manoir?"</p><p>Pauline sighed, as if already knowing she would be mocked. "Apparently, he had very bright auburn hair, so he was nicknamed Roux. It kind off stuck."</p><p>Luana cackled.</p><p>When they arrived at the Library, Pauline went to the upper floor, and pushed a pushed a painting of the sea crashing in the rocks.</p><p>"Wow." Luana breathlessly said, as she looked into the dark passageway.</p><p>"This one the first one I ever found." Pauline said. She turned to the girls, and grinned, "Are you two ready for an adventure?"</p><p>The space was too tight for the three to walk side by side, so Pauline went ahead with Charlie in the middle and Luana in the back. After the first stairs, it became a straightforward passage. They walked for what seemed like kilometres and kilometres' The ground descended just the tiny bit, making it a slow descend ahead.</p><p>They had to be walking for at least 30 minutes when Luana gasped. Charlie immediately turned to her.</p><p>"What? What's wrong?" she hurried in asking, but Luana didn't look like she was in dangerous. Her eyes were huge, and a smile was in her face.</p><p>"Can't you hear it?" She said. She kept walking, pushing Charlie forward, who after a few more meters, did in fact hear it: the sound of waves crashing.</p><p>They all hurried along, following the small light that soon arrived, and into the open.</p><p>The sight was truly something to see once in a lifetime.</p><p>They weren't on top of a cliff, watching safely the waves. No, they were in the middle of a huge rock, the passage way somewhat hidden by the cave inside the rock that had formed. As they neared the end of the cave, a huge wave crashed into it, spraying them with water. The smell of sea water was all around them, Even from so inside the cave, Charlie could see the movements of the sea, the waves soon to crash in the rock.</p><p>"When the tides are low, it's more fun." Pauline had to almost yell to be heard over the grandeur sound of the waves. "You can walk closer to the edge."</p><p>"WHY IN THE NAME Of MERLIN WOULD YOU WANT TO WALK CLOSER TO THE EDGE?!" Charlie yelled.</p><p>From behind her Luana laughed. Charlie didn't particularly like the way it sounded, it seemed unhinged, like Luana did in fact see the appeal in stepping as close to the edge as possible with the tides low or not.</p><p>"Oh!" Luana said, still laughing a bit. "This is going to be so much <em>fun!</em>"</p><hr/><p>The next morning, the girls grabbed their bikes again, and went to the cliffs. Charlie was dead tired, since they only arrived at the room a few minutes before Pauline's mother knocked to wake them up.</p><p>The wind helped, she realised, as she breezed by the forest's road.</p><p>They arrived and locked the bikes, and Pauline wasted no time in showing them the houses built into the lower cliffs.</p><p>The houses were made of rock, and blended perfectly with the cliffs, appearing invisible from the distance. Most were empty, so the girls passed their morning going through them, as they talked about the previous night.</p><p>"I like the one in the green house." Charlie said, "Though it's a bit hard to discreetly disappear when you have to pull a bit of the ground."</p><p>"True." Luana said. "I liked the fireplace one, and that one where you can hear over the vents."</p><p>"Oh yeah!" Pauline said. "My dad told me that, in the 1800's, a little boy from the family went missing, and they suspected that he got lost in one of the passage ways. Except that only Adaleus knew where all were, and his portrait didn't say where most were." She started, as she looked out of a stone window. "My dad said that the boy decided to turn into a ghost, as hunts the passageway where he ended up dying. And that if you're quiet at night, you can still hear him crying." She finished.</p><p>Charlie's eyes were wide, and Luana had an eyebrow quirked.</p><p>"Your father...told you this?"</p><p>Pauline nodded, "As a child." She paused and shrugged. "I refused to sleep alone for a week- mum was furious- and force them to look for the boy. We obviously didn't find anything, it's more likely he ended up kidnapped or something- if he even was real."</p><p>"That's some..." Luana trailed, as she dusted an abandoned table, "...Fucked up shit."</p><p>Charlie agreed.</p><p>"Still would love to see it though." Luana finished, grinning, "But not even a ghost could beat that first passageway. Charlie almost pissed herself when she saw the wave."</p><p>"Did not!" Charlie defended as Pauline absently laughed.</p><p>"You know... That cliff isn't far from here... it's that big one."</p><p>Luana grinned.</p><p>"Well then, why not go and see it?"</p><p>The three girls all shared a look and smiled.</p><p>They took their time leaving the houses. None seemed very thrilled in having to climb to the street again.</p><p>Pointe de Suzac was gorgeous. From the sides, you could see the different cities in the distance, and in the front of it, the vast sea. The field in it was green, and there were no railings.</p><p>"Wow!" Charlie said, "You can see the fisherman's cabins from here!"</p><p>"Oh yeah!" Luana looked to them. She cackled. "They remind me of flamingos."</p><p>Charlie frowned, but she could see her point.</p><p>Luana looked to the edge, tilting her head. "I wonder how deep it is..." She trailed.</p><p>"I don't think its very deep- there's rocks underneath." Pauline answered.</p><p>"Pity." Luana replied. "Jumping from here would be plenty fun."</p><p>Pauline scoffed. "Absolutely not! I'm all for fun, but I'm not ending up on the hospital right before my birthday because of one of your silly ideas."</p><p>"Alright then," Luana smirked. "We'll do it after your birthday, when it's full."</p><p>"Sure we will." She said drily. "Let's go back. My mum made salmon."</p><p>"What's with you and salmon?"</p><p>"Oh? Am I not allowed to like to eat fish?"</p><p>"Fancy fish" Luana muttered.</p><p>The three bickered playfully on their way to the bicycles.</p><hr/><p>On the 10th of July, Charlie was gently awake by Luana, who already had her pillow in her hand.</p><p>Charlie blinked the sleep away, as she tried to be very stealthy. Of all of them, Pauline had the lightest sleep, and if she could, would try to wake up before the girls manage to bother her.</p><p>They crawled to the centre of their big bed, where Pauline was sprawled. Her face was against the pillow, and Charlie could only see her red hair all over her face.</p><p>Charlie glanced at Luana, who grinned and nodded.</p><p>Together, they started to hit Pauline with the pillows. Pauline groaned and tried to shrink away from them.</p><p>"Stop. Please" she begged; her voice raspy from sleep.</p><p>"Happy birthday!" Luana sang, grabbing Pauline's arms that were covering her face, and waved them around as she sung the song in French.</p><p>Charlie laughed, mostly at Luana's awful French accent, and joined in.</p><p>The girls fell into the bed, still keeping a distance because of the heat, and instead of going under the cover, they just lounged in the bed.</p><p>Pauline sighed, rubbing her hand over her eyes. "I hate you two." She said and yawned.</p><p>"Love you too, now shut up and open your gifts."</p><p>Luana gave her a small box, and Pauline opened. Inside, was a really nice set of quills, with an especial ink that could change colours depending on how tight the person gripped the quill.</p><p>Pauline hugged Luana, and tried to smear some of the ink on her face, to see if the colour changing feature worked with fingers as well.</p><p>Luana fought at first, but after being reminded who's birthday it was, she simply glared as Pauline painted happy faces all over her forehead and cheeks.</p><p>Each line was a different colour, which just added to the fun.</p><p>"Hilarious." Luana muttered, leaning on her elbow as she sprayed her legs on the bed.</p><p>"Alright so-" Charlie said, grabbing the three different presents.</p><p>"This one-" she grabbed the small envelope, "-is from Anne. This one-" she grabbed the badly wrapped shoe box, "- is from Henry, and the last on is from me." She grinned.</p><p>Pauline eyes shone but she sighed.</p><p>She opened Anne's first, a card she made herself. It wasn't much but Pauline dawned over it for 10 minutes straight.</p><p>Next, she opened Henry's . The shoe box was filled with all sorts of muggle candy, which, since it was only sent to her last night, made absolutely sense to Charlie.</p><p>Finally, she opened Charlie's.</p><p>The small rectangular box pretty much gave it away, but Pauline still pretended to be surprised to see the vinyl's.</p><p>It mostly contained classics like The Beatles, Presley, some ABBA and Queen's new album.</p><p>"Oh my." Pauline said, "this is a lot." She threw a pointed look at Charlie, who just grinned.</p><p>"Yeah, come on, why settle money limits if you lot are just going to ignore it either way?" Luana asked, as she chewed on a Mars bar.</p><p>"Shut up. Your collection was still small, Line. You need more than just Etta James and one or two Queen albums."</p><p>Pauline rolled her eyes but smiled as she hugged Charlie.</p><p>The girls spent the rest of the morning in bed, eating the candy Pauline had gotten and seeing some owls arrive with presents or happy birthday wishes from their friends in Hogwarts.</p><hr/><p>It was 15 minutes until the party was supposed to start, that Charlie begin to wander if it was too late to try another of Pauline's dresses.</p><p>Per request, both girls allowed Pauline to choose what they would wear. In hindsight, Charlie should have written down some conditions, because she absolutely hated wearing any shade of pink, including bubble-gum pink.</p><p>She sighed and tried to argue with herself that could be worse. Since they went every other day to the beach, Charlie had gotten a tan, meaning she didn't look as rosy as she normally did.</p><p>She heard a hum, and looked in the mirror, her gaze locking with Pauline's figure. She wasn't looking at Charlie, and was instead, looking at herself in the vanity mirror, while tugging at her sapphire dress. Charlie realised, it must have been wizardly made, since when she lightly twirled, the fabric seemed to move as if it was water, the colours shifting.</p><p>"You look great, Line." Charlie said, turning to her. Pauline jumped in surprise and turned to look at Charlie, her eyes wide. "Don't worry about it."</p><p>Pauline pursed her lips and tugged at her dress once more. Like Charlie's and Luana's, it was knee length and sleeveless. The dress itself wasn't was flowy as Luana's, or as tight as Charlie's. It seemed rather simple in design, having an impression of more loose and relaxed, which worked greatly with the charm it held. It truly felt as if she was wearing a piece of the sea.</p><p>"I don't know." Pauline said, "Feels like it'll drawn too much attention. You know I can't handle many eyes on me sometimes."</p><p>Charlie smiled, coming closer to Pauline and bumping her shoulder, "That's why Lu and I are here. If people's staring makes you uncomfortable, Luana will most likely threaten someone and I can always step in front of you and hide you a bit." Charlie stared Pauline dead in the eye, hoping she'd realise how serious she was, "Don't stop wearing what you love because you're afraid of other's opinions."</p><p>Pauline smiled, but Charlie could still see how nervous she was. "You're right. Fuck everyone else." She kept muttering under her breath as she turned, as if trying to convince herself.</p><p>She took a deep breath, and continued doing her make up. From their left side, the bathroom door opened with a bang, and Luana came out grinning, slightly twirling her lilac dress.</p><p>"Check it," She said, "I'm a mix of you both."</p><p>Charlie laughed, as both girls turned to look at her. From her side, Pauline gasped, her face quickly turning into one of outrage.</p><p>"Luana Isabel, you are <em>not </em>wearing trainers with that dress!" Pauline scolded, pointing to the bathroom. "Go put on the flats I gave, right now!"</p><p>Luana dramatically sighed, leaning her back on the door frame. "I regret telling you my middle name."</p><p>"One of, at least." Charlie quipped as Pauline marched to Luana, and pushed her again into the bathroom, as she kept cursing Luana in French.</p><p>"Careful with the hair!" Charlie heard Luana shriek as Pauline finally left the bathroom, closing the door behind her.</p><p>There was a knock from the door behind Charlie, who turned to watch Pauline's mother enter the room. She was wearing a red dress that fit her like a glove, her hair in neat ringlets around her shoulders. Her amber eyes were warm with amusement as she watched the girls.</p><p>"Are you all ready?" She calmly asked.</p><p>"Nearly!" Luana yelled from the bathroom.</p><p>Pauline's mother laughed, as Luana finally excited the bathroom. She had the flats Pauline had given her on, and her hair was in a French braid, with a few small curls already escaping ( they <em>had </em>proposed other hair style choices to Luana, but she didn't seem to want anything that would easily come off).</p><p>"Ready!" She grinned at Pauline's mother, who signalled them to follow her. The girls did so, Luana trying to stop Pauline from ruining her hair-do. After all, they spent all afternoon pining her hair to perfection.</p><p>The beginning of the party was absolutely boring and made Charlie glad she didn't have to attend any aristocratic parties back home. The guests, mostly friends of the family, were all too prim and proper for a party for a 14-year-old.</p><p>The girls were to stay with Pauline's parents, as they greet the guests. All wished Pauline a Happy birthday, them promptly ignored them as they struck a casual talk with her parents.</p><p>Pauline, who must have endured many of these, seemed already used to this, but both Luana and Charlie were losing their minds to boredom already.</p><p>It took 40 minutes to all the adult guests to arrive, and after they did, the girls were allowed to go in.</p><p>"Finally, my feet already hurt." Luana grumbled.</p><p>"I can't believe Hugon is taller than me." Charlie mentioned absently. Pauline gasped, looking at her,</p><p>"I know, right? He used to be the shortest boy in our class! Mind you, if he's that tall, imagine how Lohier must be."</p><p>Luana groaned. "That bloke was taller than the Effiel Tower! I'll be surprised if he doesn't break your ceiling, Line."</p><p>They entered the ball room and were greeted with a lot of chatter. A lot of their old friends had already arrived, by floo, and so the rest of the night was better.</p><p>Most of the boys came together to quickly wish Pauline a happy birthday and ask if she minded if they played with a quaffle someone brought in the backyard for a bit.</p><p>Pauline chuckled and nodded, and so most disappeared outside.</p><p>After them, Aalis Bonnesante, a girl a year younger, came and hugged Pauline with a grin in her face.</p><p>Charlie didn't know the girl very well, but she knew the girls vaguely knew each other, from other parties. Aalis smiled at them and asked how Hogwarts was.</p><p>In fact, most girls seemed very curious about Hogwarts. As more people came to wish Pauline a happy birthday, they all stayed to ask about it.</p><p>And so, the girls told them all they could. They explained that no, there were no wood nymphs at all, but that there were ghosts, and even an annoying poltergeist. They told them about Ravenclaw tower, and even what they knew of the Gryffindor one. How they managed the quidditch teams and how crazy the kitchens were, and even a few pranks some students pulled on each other.</p><p>In turned, everyone told them what had happened that year. Apparently, Madame Lunet was thinking of retiring in the next years. There was a new Herbology teacher as well, and more importantly of all, Agnes told them in great detail how Tierri, a boy a year older than them, rejected Alphonsine Moreau.</p><p>Charlie was glad to not feel much about her anymore. It had been more than a year since she punched the girl, and by now, Charlie didn't really care if the girl was happy or sad.</p><p>Now, all she remembered was how funny Rory was, or how Maeve managed to always make Pauline laugh at her antics, or Luana's grin when she joked around with Henry.</p><p>If she hadn't moved to Hogwarts, none of that would be possible. Luana would probably never meet Henry, and would be deprived of a great friendship. None of them would know Maeve or get the latter gossip from her. None of them would know Althea, or Lily, James, Remus and even Sirius. She wouldn't know Rory.</p><p>In a weird way, Charlie guessed she'd have to thank Moreau.</p><p>Charlie grinned as she heard Luana's loud laugh when Agnes explained how exactly Luca Schaeffer flooded an entire floor.</p><p>"Oh, boy." Luana said, still chuckling, "Oh I wish I had seen that."</p><p>Agnes pouted, "So do I! Everyone was just so nice to him- no one said anything inappropriately funny." She sighed. "I miss you girls. School seems a more boring without you three." She looked them over. "Have you been doing anything fun at Hogwarts, at least?"</p><p>Pauline shrugged, "I manage to keep them on the line, mostly."</p><p>"Yes," Luana sighed, "My days of accidentally breaking windows are over." She paused. "And of drawing on portraits."</p><p>Agnes pouted, "Sounds horrible."</p><p>"Trust me, if you saw the caretaker, you would understand. I'm pretty sure he walks around with chains just in case anyone breaks any rule." Charlie replied.</p><p>Agnes laughed, mostly likely thinking they were joking, and changed the subject, reminiscing on the time in second year when Luana climbed a tree and a heavy branch broke, breaking a window of a nearby classroom.</p><p>Soon after, the small circular tables appeared, and everyone sat down for dinner. In their table, sat also Louis and Rui.</p><p>Almost immediately, Luana and Rui started a conversation in Portuguese, and Charlie and Pauline chit chatted with Louis, who seemed more interested in seeing Luana trying to count how many French fries she could put in her mouth.</p><p>When she got to 34, she gave up, trying to chew them all. Charlie and Pauline snorted, as the Rui laughed so hard at Luana's face, he fell from his chair.</p><p>A while after that, the music picked up once more and the tables disappeared.</p><p>Someone behind Charlie cleared his throat, and she turned to look at Guilaume. He had been around them earlier, to wish Pauline a happy birthday, but in the middle of so many boys, Charlie barely notice him.</p><p>He had changed his glasses and he'd grown a few inches taller. His dark eyes were gazing the floor, and his ears and cheeks were red.</p><p>Awkwardly, he told her hi, and held his hand to her. Slightly smiling, Charlie accepted his hand and the two made their way to the dance floor.</p><p>Looking around, she saw Pauline dancing and laughing with Lohier Cadieux and Luana and Louis dancing animatedly, as if to a moved beat.</p><p>Guilaume stepped on her foot, and he apologise for a minute straight. Charlie simply laughed and asked the boy how he was. The two started talking, and slowly she saw Guilaume relax more, as he laughed with her.</p><p>Charlie realised, as Guilaume laughed and clumsy twirl her, that the night felt like a little bubble of happiness; reuniting with old friends, laughing all together and even now, dancing with a boy she barely knew back then.</p><p>As in an instant, a pit of dread settled in her stomach. Her vacation in France was the best moment of her whole summer and was ending in two days.</p><p>Charlie laughed at a joke Guilaume said and decided to ignore to dread.</p><p>Tomorrow they'd be heading to the beach again, and Luana promised to teach them her sandcastle technique.</p><hr/><p>"Can't believe you idiots are leaving tomorrow." Pauline pouted.</p><p>The two girls were slowly walking through the summer fair. Truth be told, when Pauline mentioned a fair, Charlie expected something big, with rides and games everywhere.</p><p>But, as Pauline said, it was a little place, so mostly, it was some makeshift shops selling local things, a few places with candies for kids and only one or two fair games spread around.</p><p>They had already tried them all, Charlie managing to win a small Teddy, that she gave to Pauline, who had spent the most money trying to win something. Right now, the two slowly gazed some shops, as Luana went to get some candy floss for them all.</p><p>"I know." Charlie answered, already sad about it. These two weeks became one of the bests in Charlie's life, and she couldn't even think of the big shift it'd be, to go from being able to do whatever in a small safe village, to the craziness of London, and all the restrictions that came with it.</p><p>Especially since technically, she wasn't allowed to leave the house to go anywhere but Henry's, with authorisation, for the rest of July and August.</p><p>"I wish I could stay here forever." She said, looking around the small fairy lights that decorated the street. "This place feels, I don't know..." She trailed, a smirk taking over her face, "It seemed <em>magical.</em>"</p><p>Pauline snorted. "How proud do you feel for that one?"</p><p>"Very proud, thank you very much."</p><p>Luana appeared, her curly hair bouncing around her shoulders, as she tried to run with 3 sticks on candy floss in her hands.</p><p>"Here. They even had different colours!- but that was extra, so the classic pink for us."</p><p>Each girl took their stick. Luana's appearance brought some more laughs, but Charlie could still feel the dread in her chest. She didn't want the night to ever end.</p><p>"Maybe I could hide you idiots in one of those passageways and pretend you ran into the forest." Pauline mused.</p><p>"I'm sure the house elves could sniff us out quickly." Luana said, her head tilting. "Still, though," She continued, "Charlie and I only leave at around 3, so if we wake up early, we can still enjoy the morning and pack quickly right after lunch."</p><p>Charlie's eyebrow quirked, "Have anything planned for it?"</p><p>Luana grinned, and Charlie had a feeling she wouldn't like it, "Actually, yes. Yes I do."</p><hr/><p>"No!" Charlie yelled, hitting the breaks in her bike. She glared at Luana, who looked gracefully relaxed in her own bike, feigning ignorance.</p><p>"The grass won't kill you, Ellis."</p><p>"As if I believe that we'll stick to only the grass."</p><p>Luana grinned. "Why, I won't, but if you want to be a baby and stay here..." She trailed. "I mean- what's the worst that can happen?"</p><p>"We die?" She tried.</p><p>"Then we die doing something fun! Or in the very least, get seriously injured, meaning we'll stay here for a few more weeks-"</p><p>Charlie groaned, hiding her head in her hands. She glanced at Pauline, who was looking at the destination with distant eyes.</p><p>"Aren't you going to talk her down?" She asked Pauline.</p><p>"She's right." Pauline answered, her voice small.</p><p>"What?!" Both Luana and Charlie said at the same time. Luana simply sounded surprised while Charlie sounded terrified.</p><p>Luana laughed "Oh, I knew I'd eventually crack you." She grinned at Pauline.</p><p>"You didn't- it just so happened that you chose the perfect day." She looked up. "There's barely any wind, the sky is clear, the tide is full and there's no storm heading today." She sighed, "Plus, I've always wanted to do it, but I was too afraid." Her eyes hardened. "I'm tired of being afraid of little things."</p><p>Charlie sighed, turning her gaze to the heavens, hoping someone -anyone- would come down and smack some sense into those two girls. Honestly, with the way they were talking- they sounded like Gryffindors!</p><p>However, Charlie had to admit, she was curious. After all, if she didn't she'd forever regret it, and where would she ever get another shot of jumping of a cliff? Certainly not at home.</p><p>"If I die," She started slowly, turning to glare at Luana, "I'll haunt you forever."</p><p>She grinned, "A win-win scenario, then!"</p><p>The three girls locked their bikes. The day was good, but it was far too early to have many people around. Luana peered out of the edge.</p><p>"Best to get some momenta," She said, "To avoid those rocks."</p><p>Charlie took a deep breath, feeling her heartbeat pick up. She looked at Pauline, who's face was determined, but who's hands shook.</p><p>Luana turned back to them, watching their reactions.</p><p>"We'll do it when we're all ready." She said, her eyes jumping between the girls, a certain reassurance in them, "Together."</p><p>Charlie nodded, "Together." She repeated.</p><p>Pauline closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She took her shoes and little purse, the girls soon following.</p><p>Her shaking hands grabbed theirs. The three stood, watching the cliff.</p><p>"Together." Pauline said, sharing glances at the girls, who nodded.</p><p>With a count down to three, they ran and jumped.</p><p>Charlie could barely hear her own screams over Pauline's terrified ones and Luana's excited ones.</p><p>They fell in the ice-cold water, but Charlie could barely feel it with the adrenaline pumping in her. She kept her eyes closed as she moved herself to the surface.</p><p>She broke it, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes. Pauline had been the first to surface, and they waited a terrifying second before Luana appeared as well.</p><p>Charlie glanced behind her, seeing they missed the rocks but a worryingly small amount of space.</p><p>They all shared glances and started to laugh and whoop.</p><p>An unmatched happiness filled Charlie as she laughed into the air. She'd never felt as invincible as she did in that moment.</p><p>She'd never forget this day in her life.</p><hr/><p>Henry was finishing his homework when he heard an owl tap his window.</p><p>Normally, by this hour, he'd already have left, going to meet Robin, who also lived in London, but the quidditch World Cup was in a week, and he promised his mum he'd have all his homework finish by then.</p><p>But of course, he didn't count with exactly how much Professor McGonagall would send. So, he decided it was best to be stuck 2 days at home, and finally finish it all, then to have to lie to his mum.</p><p>Still, at this hour, he didn't expect anyone to be awake.</p><p>He went to his window and sighed frowned when he noticed an owl he had never seen before. The owl was a Boreal owl, his yellow eyes seemingly already annoyed at Henry.</p><p>His suspicious got worse. No one he knew had Boreal owls, since they weren't the common in England.</p><p>He opened the window, and the owl flew into the bird perch he had. Henry himself didn't have an owl, but he always had some water and food for his friend's owls. The owl immediately began to eat, and Henry went to the desk, where the owl had dropped a box.</p><p>Silently praying it wasn't a dung bomb, Henry gingerly opened it, and his eyebrows raised. Inside, he could see an ABBA album, a blue envelope, and a big piece of parchment folded, saying 'HENRY'.</p><p>He also recognised the hand-writing, and was left wondering how his cousin got her hands on a Boreal owl.</p><p>He opened the parchment and quickly read the letter.</p><p>
  <em>Hi!!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sorry for the strange owl, I left Yaris back home ( She hates going over the canal), so I had to use Pauline's family owl. His name is Jolies Lumiéres , but if you call him that, he'll bite you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As you know I'm in France, and just to boost some more, me and the girls bought you some late-birthday gifts. I know you didn't want me to tell them, wise to fear what Luana would get you, but I really couldn't come up with a good enough excuse to explain why I'm voluntarily buying you something.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My present, is the ABBA disc, since I <span class="u">know </span>it's the guilty pleasure Aunt Beatrice passed on to you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pauline bought you the other vinyl, and Luana's gift is the blue envelope. Sadly, I can't warn you about what it is, since I didn't see her buy it, so it's smart to fear the worse.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Happy late birthday (again!),</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Charlie.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>P.S- Luana and Pauline are telling me to tell you to write me about who wins the cup, and how.</em>
</p><p>Henry's lips quirked. He first took the vinyl's giving them a quick look. Charlie got him ABBA's latest album, Waterloo, and Pauline a new band Henry's mate Walter was obsessed with: KISS.</p><p>He put them next to the others, the ABBA one closer to the new vinyl player, so he could show his mum when she got home.</p><p>Gingerly, he picked up Luana's envelope. He wouldn't put it pass her to stuff it with pig dung or something of sorts.</p><p>Still, his eyebrow quirked as he took in the colour. Light blue, like the sky. His favourite. He barely even remembered telling her that.</p><p>Opening it, there were only two things inside.</p><p>There was a piece of muggle paper, hastily written on, and... a spoon.</p><p>Alright well, Henry didn't blame her, his gift wasn't crazy good either and she was probably on a strict allowance.</p><p>He unfolded the paper and laughed.</p><p>
  <em>'For your cake. Happy birthday!'</em>
</p><p>He looked back to the spoon and smiled.  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hey! this is one day late, but here it is! No date for the next update because not only do i have so much school work to still do, but i'm also sick :).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 19- 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑢𝑔𝑢𝑠𝑡</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>'Charlie,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You sure are annoying. I'm surprised you haven't killed that owl of yours with so many letters in so little time.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Syria won against Madagascar. The entire week before the game, though, was nuts. One bloke on the international Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee (I heard it so much this week, I can spell this shit in my sleep) wanted people not to carry wands in the stadium.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, there was an attempt of a protest, which was hilarious, but they gave up on it. So , instead of using my wand, I had to buy this bullshit called a dissimulator, that is just fancy lantern that can make noise sometimes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But some lads did actually smuggle their wands in, disguising them as those dissimulators. You should have seen the employee's face, I'm pretty sure he quit.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway, that's all the interesting shit that happened in the world cup. Me and my mates went to Sydney too, it's pretty, but it was too cold to do anything fun.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I already wrote to mum, but you know how's she's like. Tell her I'll be back this week.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Henry.'</em>
</p><p>Charlie sighed as she re-read her cousin's letter. From downstairs, she could hear giggling and rolled her eyes. She decided she'd do all she could to not go downstairs and see her sister and her friend Esther having fun.</p><p>Just like Pauline and Luana would, Esther came to spend two weeks of August with Anne. It had been a week and a half, and Charlie could barely handle the giggles and shrieks anymore.</p><p>The saddest thing is, even she could realise that she hated this so much, simply because it wasn't <em>her</em> friends.</p><p>She sighed, and looked at the thin, slightly pink, line on her inner forearm. It had been more than a month since she left Pauline's house, and the feeling of loneliness was even worse.</p><p>Maybe because after spending 2 weeks in such a free place, getting to go anywhere she wanted, doing whatever she wanted, with her best friends, and then, too quickly, she was back at London.</p><p>London, that outside was busting with life, and yet Charlie wasn't supposed to go there.</p><p>Her fingers slightly traced the scar. She remembered the stinging feeling she got when she cut herself on a rock, while climbing back to arrive to their bikes. Luana, the reckless idiot, had gotten a bigger cut on her leg, deeper too.</p><p>Charlie smiled. Back then, they were slightly worried about both wounds when they saw the blood. Pauline had scolded herself, for even thinking that jumping off a cliff was a good idea. But, after realising they wouldn't die from them, they laughed. Charlie would never forget the feeling of biking home, all wet and with blood trailing down her forearm and hand, marking the pavement. The wind had felt amazing, as she was still riding off the euphoria.</p><p>Now, the scar was a reminder of how fun life could be. Just, not in London.</p><p>Still, it could be worse.</p><p>Charlie grinned as she looked at her watch. Technically, she wasn't allowed to leave the house, especially with two 12 year old girls in the house. But what her mother did not know, wouldn't kill her.</p><p>She grinned, and quickly changed. She grabbed a random top, that happened to be green, and grabbed her tennis skirt, and paused.</p><p>The only time she had wore it, was in France. Normally, Charlie didn't like dresses or skirts, but by now, she was used to them. In Beauxbâtons, she had to wear a skirt in the uniform and sadly, the same happened in Hogwarts. Plus, all the times she had to go to Grandma Cecilia's house and use one. But, by her own will, she only wore it once.</p><p>There was something so weird about using it, as if she were naked. As if she was waiting for someone else to pull it up. She scowled.</p><p>In France, she didn't even feel it. While pacing around the streets, with Pauline and Luana next to her, she felt safe.</p><p>She shook her head, and instead grabbed some shorts. It was better to sneak out, anyway.</p><p>She opened her door.</p><p>"Anne!" She yelled, "I'm going to take a nap. Keep it quiet."</p><p>"Okay!" She heard her sister say back, probably too busy looking at the tv to even care. Charlie grinned and locked her door. She ran to her window and opened it, grabbing her purse.</p><p>Her room was on the first floor, and normally, that was a big no-no to leave by it. After all, there are no balconies around the even grab to go down. But luckily, Charlie's room had a tree right next to it.</p><p>She quickly descended, almost slipping, and made her way out of her street. She went to the first dark, sketchy alley she could, and raised her wand. She quickly put it away, just as an enormous purple bus appeared.</p><p>She entered and bought a ticket.</p><p>After the first time Charlie sneaked out, she decided that even if she hated the very unstable bus, it was by far the best choice . Muggle transportation, although safer, took forever to reach Lewisham. The knight bus, however, took ten minutes.</p><p>She was dropped off in a sketchy alley as well, so the muggles couldn't see her come put of thin air. Charlie only had to walk 5 minutes to reach the meeting place, where Rory was already at.</p><p>"There you are!" He grinned, his eyes shining. "I already checked, and the only good one seems to be 11 Harrowhouse." His lips pursed. "It's horror, though."</p><p>Charlie grinned. "Don't worry, Rory," She linked her arm through his, "You can always hold my hand if you get scared." She winked.</p><p>Rory turned red as a tomato and laughed. "You talk like a Gryffindor."</p><p>Charlie scrunched her nose, as she directed the two to the nearest cinema. "I blame Henry."</p><p>Both quickly paid for their tickets, and decided to share the popcorn, after Rory realised, he didn't have enough to pay for one.</p><p>"Thanks." He whispered, as they sat down. His ears were still red, "You didn't have to really-"</p><p>"Nonsense." Charlie waved. "This way we can both save a bit more. My muggle allowance isn't that big and my savings are taking a big dip." Charlie replied.</p><p>Rory came closer, so neither didn't need to reach a lot for them. Charlie could feel herself feel hot and decided that it was because of how hot the dark room was.</p><p>The film began, and Charlie did her best to shift her attention to it.</p><hr/><p>"Well," Rory said, as they walked out, "That wasn't as bad as I thought."</p><p>Charlie snorted, "It was shit."</p><p>Rory laughed, as they both walked to the nearest park. Charlie knew she'd have to be home soon but didn't feel like leaving. Rory's company this summer had been a blessing from Merlin himself.</p><p>"What do you want to do tomorrow?" He asked. "I think I have enough for a lunch." He grinned. "Or maybe an arcade."</p><p>Charlie snorted. "What? So I can hear you moan how much you wish to go to The Corridor? I don't think so."</p><p>He whined. "But it's so amazing." He let his body relaxed in a bench. Charlie laughed as she saw this, he looked exactly like he had turned into jelly. "I asked my dad to go on my birthday-" He sighed. "But he has to work."</p><p>Charlie's eyes narrowed, as she considered all this information. Rory's birthday would be this Friday, in two days. Esther would leave on Saturday and the girls would come on Monday. Henry would come, most likely, tomorrow.</p><p>"Where is that, again?" she asked absently.</p><p>Rory waved somewhere behind him- pointing west. "Somerset."</p><p><em>'So, around 2 hours by car.' </em>Charlie thought. She knew it took almost an hour to reach Rory's home by car, but only because of all the traffic in London. So, if took the knight bus ten minutes with all that traffic, traveling through the smaller towns to reach it would probably take-</p><p>"Twenty minutes? Half an hour?" She muttered.</p><p>Rory lifted his head, "Huh?" He said, but Charlie paid him no mind.</p><p>"What time does you dad leave for work and comes back?"</p><p>He scrounged his face, "Around 8:30? And arrives at 4:00pm, why?"</p><p>Charlie bit her lip as she thought. If Rory's dad left at 8:30 and her mum left at nine...Maybe she could bribe Henry to stay with them that day... They'd arrive at around ten, and they'd have to leave around 15:20 to be able to leave off Rory...</p><p>Charlie grinned, turning to Rory.</p><p><br/>"How about we do it?"</p><p>Rory's eyebrows furrowed. "Do what?"</p><p>If possible, Charlie grinned even more. "What if we go to The Corridor on your birthday?"</p><hr/><p>Charlie squeezed the lemon half into the juicer. She absolutely <em>hated </em>making lemonade, but some sacrifices were to be made if she hoped to be able to sneak out tomorrow.</p><p>She carefully filtered the juice, adding only 2 teaspoons of sugar and a cup of water into the pitch. She stirred it all, and hoped it was good.</p><p>There was a knock to the door, and Charlie hastily made her way to it. She opened it, and in came Henry, who carelessly threw his luggage onto the hallways, took his shoes, and threw himself on the couch.</p><p>"Blimey, you have no idea what a walk it is from Roundwood park to here." He said, leaning in head in the pillow and closing his eyes.</p><p>Charlie's eyes widen "You walked? What about the money I gave you for the knight bus?"</p><p>" 'Spent it" He said, eyes still close.</p><p>Charlie felt annoyance grow in her as she had to jump over Henry's enormous bag. <em>Why </em>they chose that park to apparate back, Charlie had no idea. Not only was it a park where they could be easily spotted by muggles, but none of the boys lived closed by. Still, she pushed it to the back of her mind.</p><p>She looked over Henry's appearance. He was tanner, taller, and his hair was longer and curlier. Since it was in medium size strands before, the hair couldn't curl much, making it look like he had a mop on his head. Now, the strands could probably reach his jaw, but Charlie wasn't sure, since the strands had turned into more defined curls that framed the top of his face. Most of them, however, still hovered on his head, with no purpose what-so-ever.</p><p>In another time, Charlie would have told him to go cut it, but today she decided on a different approach.</p><p>"Want some lemonade?"</p><p>Henry's eyes opened, and he looked at her like she an angel. She sure hoped he still looked at her like that when she'd ask him to babysit the two sleeping demons upstairs.</p><p>"Yes, please." He said breathlessly. He started to slowly move his arms as Charlie went to get him a cup.</p><p>When she returned, the jumper he was wearing was on the ground. Charlie grimaced as she realised how sweaty Henry was. He would probably leave a big mark on the couch.</p><p>"Here." She simply said, sitting on the armrest.</p><p>He sat so he could drink it, and Charlie took the opportunity to sit.</p><p>Henry took the drink to his lips but paused before drinking it. He looked at it, then at Charlie's smiling face. His eyes narrowed.</p><p>"What's in this?"</p><p>"...Lemonade?"</p><p>"Don't be smart with me, I know you spiked it."</p><p>"No I didn't!" Charlie snapped. Honestly, he comes to her home, makes a mess, ruins her couch and even accuses her of poisoning him.</p><p>"Then why are you smiling like that? It's creepy."</p><p>"Well..." Charlie trailed, widening her grin. "I know you must be tired and all- but I was hoping you could do me a favour."</p><p>Henry groaned so loud, Charlie was afraid he woken up the girls, or worse, Alfred.</p><p>"Charlie, I literally <em>just </em>got back."</p><p>"This one is easy, I promise." She pouted.</p><p>Henry looked at her, his gaze telling her did not believe her one bit. Still, he eventually sighed and massaged his temple.</p><p>"What?" He snapped.</p><p>"I need you to be here tomorrow."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>Charlie bit her lip. "I'm going somewhere for the day. Anne has a friend over and I just need you to make sure they don't die. I'll leave lunch for you all made and all you got to do is make sure they don't die, that's it."</p><p>His eyes narrowed. "If I'm not mistaken, you're not allowed to leave this house without someone."</p><p>"Well, I was hoping your love for me and 20 galleons would make you forget I even left."</p><p>"20 galleons for me to forget- and another 20 for babysitting, right?"</p><p>"Are you fucking serious? I'm not paying you 40 galleons."</p><p>He quirked an eyebrow "50 then?"</p><p>She sighed, wishing she just kept her mouth shut.</p><p>"I only have 30 upstairs, and I need 3 for tomorrow."</p><p>Henry smiled. "I take my 27 in advance then." He held his hand and Charlie hesitantly shook it.</p><p>"Didn't your mother taught you that it's wrong to extort money from family?" She asked.</p><p>"Didn't yours tell you to stay home?"</p><p>"Touché." She mused. "I need you here by 9:15 in the very least."</p><p>Henry tsked. "The things I do for you."</p><p>Charlie snorted. "Oh, if only you would do this out of the bottom of your heart." She paused, "How was Australia?"</p><p>Henry grinned lazily, "I'll tell you tomorrow when you arrive. I'm too tired to even move, much less to talk right now."</p><p>"Then shut up."</p><p>"And let you be in peace? I think not." He chuckled, though why, Charlie had no idea. He wasn't that funny, especially this tired. He raised the cup to his lips and took a loud sip.</p><p>"How is Annie? And her friend?"</p><p>"Good, they're sleeping. Stayed up all night watching tv."</p><p>Henry hummed. "And your friends?"</p><p>Charlie narrowed her eyes. She knew Henry liked both Pauline and Luana, enough to annoy them all year, but the question felt like it was leading to something else.</p><p>"Good. Pauline went to Paris to buy some quills and is staying there for the week with her parents."</p><p>Henry hummed and slightly tensed. "And Luana?" He asked, "Haven't heard from her since I sent her a thank you note for the present. Do you think she's doing okay?"</p><p>Charlie snorted. "I have no idea. You know how she is; she prefers to keep everything to herself. Even from Pauline and I. Merlin, I don't even know her mother's name."</p><p>"It's Nicole." Henry quipped.</p><p>Charlie snapped her gaze back to him, her eyebrows most likely touching her hairline. Henry stared her down as he loudly sipped his lemonade.</p><p>"Anyway-" he tried.</p><p>"No, no, what the hell, how do you know that?"</p><p>Henry looked a bit uncomfortable, but quickly covered it up, quirking an eyebrow.</p><p>"I have my ways." He said mysteriously. He quickly drank the rest of his lemonade. "Now go away. If I have to be here so early, I better start my beauty sleep now." He shooed her away from the couch (Her own couch!) and sprayed himself again.</p><p>Not even a minute later, he started to snore.</p><hr/><p>Like every time she planned to have fun, the seconds seemed to tick down extra slowly.</p><p>The night seemed to drag on, and it didn't help that Charlie was too nervous to sleep.</p><p>For the last month or so, she had been sneaking out of her window to meet up Rory. But one thing was to go to Lewisham, another was to go to Somerset all together. Plus, a big trip on the knight bus was bound to end in disaster.</p><p>Finally, around 4am, Charlie managed to lull herself to a light sleep, that was quickly interrupted by any small noise. At 8am, she gave up.</p><p>She decided to make sure everything was in order. She had her bag, with her wand, a water bottle, some snacks, galleons and some pounds.</p><p>The plan was easy: wake up before mum left, eat breakfast, and after she left, quickly get dressed and pray for Henry not to be late.</p><p>She descended the stairs and went into the kitchen.</p><p>Truth be told, Charlie could barely remember breakfast. She knew her mother said something to her- most likely were lunch was- but all Charlie could see was the clock, while also being nervous of the outcome, and trying <em>not </em>to look suspicious.</p><p>Her toast was cold by the time her mum kissed her goodbye and went to her office.</p><p>After hearing the roars of the fireplace, Charlie sprinted up the stairs.</p><p>She got dressed in record time and sprinted down. She kept her eyes glued to the watch.</p><p>
  <em>09:25</em>
</p><p>Her leg bounced as she bit her lip. Rory would be already on the knight bus, and if Henry didn't hurry, they would zoom out of London in no time, and then she'd have to wait for the bus to <em>return</em> from Somerset.</p><p>Her hands kept pushing and pulling her bag, as her leg bounced. The minutes ticked by, and Charlie was already of thinking of writing to Luana to tell her she's allowed to annoy Henry was much as she wants this year, when the doorbell ringed.</p><p>Running to the door, she silently opened it. There, stood Henry, who seemed to have only thrown a jacket over his pyjamas, which Charlie didn't doubt. Instead of a 'Hello' or 'Sorry I'm late', he simply grunted.</p><p>"Alright so, Lunch is probably in the oven, just need to heat it over on the microwave, and for Merlin's sake, take the platinum sheet off before you do it. Anne and Esther are still asleep, if they ask, tell them I'm on my period and do not want to be disturbed."</p><p>"How many times have you used that excuse?" He asked as he entered, leaving the door opened.</p><p>"Wouldn't you like to know." She said, stepping outside. She turned around before Henry could shut the door in her face.</p><p>"I'll be back around 4pm." She looked at her watch as she ran to the nearest sketchy alleyway.</p><p>
  <em>09:36</em>
</p><p>She quickly raised her arm with her wand and stashed it on her bag once more. Thankfully, it only took the knight bus a few moments, so it couldn't be far behind.</p><p>Charlie grinned as she saw Rory's grinning face on the window. She could feel a bubble of excitement as she paid for her ticket. There was something so exhilarating on doing something she shouldn't.</p><p>Rory laughed like a child on Christmas as Charlie threw herself on top of him.</p><p>"Happy Birthday!" She yelled. Rory laughed and hugged her back.</p><p>"Thank you." He said, as they separated. He looked as red as a tomato as some people around them awkwardly wished him a happy birthday as well.</p><p>He turned to Charlie, who was still grinning ear to ear.</p><p>"Are you ready for the best day ever?"</p><hr/><p>The trip to Somerset was somehow, not as dangerous as Charlie thought it would be. Maybe it was because today there wasn't as much traffic, or simply because she had Rory by her side to distract her from the constant craziness of the bus.</p><p>The trip was around half an hour, and during that half an hour, Charlie felt excited and nervous. All she needed was to gaze at Rory's face to see he felt the same.</p><p>What if something went wrong? What if they got caught? What if they got robbed? All were real possibilities Charlie didn't exactly think of before.</p><p>She looked at Rory once more, who was talking about the muggle camera his dad had gotten him. He had brought it today, to try it out.</p><p>His dark eyes were sparkling, and he could barely stop jumping in his seat. It was clear he was so incredibly excited.</p><p>Somehow, all that excitement soothed Charlie. Hoe could she doubt if this was the right choice, when she clearly made her friend so happy?</p><p>Not only was it his birthday, but most likely the last day they could meet up.</p><p>Soon, the girls would arrive, and sneaking out would be impossible. And Rory too, would go to his mother's house until Hogwarts would start.</p><p>Finally, they arrived at a dark alleyway, and left. They quickly took to the main street, and found the High Street, and didn't had to walk much to find The Corridor.</p><p>Charlie wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe some grandiose building like the ones behind her, sparkly clean, filled with children and games.</p><p>Instead, they found a dirty and small archway, with pretty columns that reminded Charlie of roman temples.</p><p>Rory and Charlie shared a look and entered the corridor inside The Corridor.</p><p>"Are you sure this is the right place?" Charlie asked, as she looked around the shops. This looked nothing like the arcade she was used to visit with Rory. In fact, she couldn't see even one similarity.</p><p>Instead of children, they found adults all around. Instead of games, they found shops.</p><p>"I'm sure- my dad told me all about it." Rory sighed, clearly disappointed. "I guess it must have changed a lot over the years."</p><p>Seeing Rory sad, on his birthday non the less, made Charlie scowl. She was going to make sure this ended up being the best day in his life- not even if she had to buy half the stores.</p><p>"Well it's huge! I'm sure we'll find something to do." She grinned, hoping it would lift Rory's spirits. Thankfully, her smile must have been infectious, because Rory was soon grinning as well.</p><p>They strolled the shops, pretending to be as mature as the people around them- even stopping for tea.</p><p>Somehow, strolling the shops wasn't boring at all, especially with Rory around. They first stopped at a small bookshop, where they lost time by opening a book at a random page and dramatically reading the context. Eventually they got kicked out when Charlie burst out laughing at Rory's dramatic reading of a dictionary.</p><p>After that, Rory's spirit lifted even more when they found a store that had a sale on VHS, where Charlie spent most of her allowance on the tapes. At first Rory seemed embarrassed to accept the VHS Charlie offered to pay, but after she reminded him it was his birthday, and therefore shouldn't have to pay, he sheepishly accepted it.</p><p>Around midday, and after Rory managed to annoy a stranger into taking their picture, they left The Corridor, and strolled down the streets of Bath.</p><p>They left the High Street, and after finding a nice place to have lunch, visited the Bath Abbey and spent an entire hour in the Parade Gardens. The view to the Avon River was breath-taking, and the two spent the rest of the time snapping silly pictures and trying to climb trees.</p><p>It was finally 3pm when they decided to call it quits. They stopped by a small bakery and brought a small cupcake.</p><p>Charlie reached into her bag, and pulled a small candle, which she asked the lady of the bakery to light up.</p><p>She stabbed the candle in the cupcake and singed, rather off-key as an a costumer so kindly pointed out, a happy birthday to Rory.</p><p>Rory's entire face and neck were red but he grinned so brightly it was impossible not to grin too.</p><p>"Happy Birthday." She told him gently, as he blew the candle.</p><p>Rory tried to split the small cake in half, and both ate a piece as they strolled back to the dark alleyway, where Rory pulled his wand out and stashed it quickly.</p><p>The knight bus was taking a longer this time to get there, but Charlie wasn't even worried. She simply laid her head in Rory's shoulder and enjoyed his company.</p><p>"I'll miss you. Can't believe you're abandoning me to go to Ireland." She said. Rory laughed, patting her head gently.</p><p>"It's just two weeks."</p><p>Charlie pouted.</p><p>"It seems like forever. I just spent almost a month with you, I've gotten used to this life of crime." She replied, her focused in the trashcans in front of her, left hand absently tracing the pink line in her right forearm.</p><p>Rory hummed, his head on top of hers. Now that they have been resting for a while, after all that running and jumping in the park, they seemed more tired than usual.</p><p>They didn't say anything else until the bus arrived. Charlie quickly paid for both their tickets, before Rory had a change to pay for his, and the two made it inside. They sat side by side.</p><p>At some point, just as they left Somerset, Charlie fell asleep.</p><p>She was gently awake by Rory shaking her, claiming they arrived at her house.</p><p>She got up, still half asleep, but was stopped by Rory's hand on her wrist.</p><p>"Thank you," He said, "For today. You really didn't need to have done all this." He said, his ears reddening.</p><p>Charlie leaned down and hugged Rory the best she could, taking in account that he was sitting down as she was up.</p><p>"Nonsense, Rory. It's your birthday, and you're one of my closest friends." She said as she departed from him. "Don't forget to write to me, okay? I want to know everything you and Maeve get up to in Cork."</p><p>Rory smiled, "Aye, Aye Captain." He mocked saluted her.</p><p>Charlie sleepily waves the bus away, as she stepped into the alleyway close to her home.</p><p>She wasn't far from her house, but she was in no rush to arrive. As she strolled down her street, she wished she could have done more today. The entire day, even with the small hiccups, made her feel as free as she wished.</p><p>As she arrived at front of her house, a thought hit her. How would she walk in? If she did it from the door, her sister would hear it, and since she was supposedly home, would be very confuse.</p><p>Charlie sighed, and started to climb the tree next to their porch. The action felt harder than usual, since Charlie was still half asleep.</p><p>Thankfully, she had left her window open, and even ignored as she almost slipped.</p><p>She must have made more noise than what she expected, since soon, Henry opened the door just enough to peek inside.</p><p>"Oh," He said, "It's just you." He walked in.</p><p>Charlie felt all sleep leave her as she bit her lip to stop the laughter that threaten to spill. Henry's longer hair was filled with scrunchies and sort of pins. His nails were painted red and there was a huge line of lipstick in his cheek.</p><p>"I see you had fun." She tried.</p><p>His eyes narrowed. "Not a word. Do you know how hard it is to keep your sister entertained?"</p><p>"All I asked you is was to make sure she didn't die."</p><p>"Well, they saw me and decided to entertain themselves." Henry defended, as he slumped on Charlie's bed.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes and laid on the extra bed. Henry could lie all he wanted, but Charlie knew he didn't mind one-bit what Anne did to him. He probably even volunteered. To this day, Charlie never really understood the weird connection Henry had with Anne, and much less with her-</p><p>"Are you listening to me?" He said loudly, interrupting her thoughts.</p><p>"Hm?" She asked,</p><p>Henry rolled his eyes and pointed in her direction.</p><p>"I said, why do you have an extra bed in your room?"</p><p>Before Charlie could reply, however, He continued.</p><p>"Actually, if you don't mind, I know exactly what to do with it. You wouldn't mind if I stayed here until Sunday, right? I forgot mum was passing the week with her new boyfriend. I came home to no one, and worse, no food!"</p><p>Henry gave a strangled noise, most likely imagining having to go back to his home with no food.</p><p>"I'm sure you can." Charlie started. "But the bed isn't for you. Pauline and Luana are coming this week- actually, on Sunday!"</p><p>"Oh boy." He said. "You better not tell them about today- I'm not spending the day running from Luana just because you told her Annie was allowed to paint my nails."</p><p>Charlie laughed, knowing full well she'd tell Luana.</p><hr/><p>"Godric, how long does it take for those two to say goodbye?" Henry grumbled, as they both strolled down the main street of Diagon Alley. "They're seeing each other in 2 weeks!"</p><p>"Some people have feelings Henry-"</p><p>"Shut up. I have feelings, but if I'm seeing my friends in two weeks, I'm not treating it like it's the end of the world."</p><p>"I hope one day you eat your words." Charlie said, but one glance to her side and she knew Henry wasn't listening in; he was gazing lovingly at the broom in display at the store.</p><p>Charlie sighed. Maybe she should have stayed with her mum and Anne as they talked with Esther's family.</p><p>"Come on, your broom is perfectly fine!" She said as she dragged a brooding Henry.</p><p>"But I could use some gloves too-"</p><p>"You got some last year!"</p><p>Henry sighed and followed Charlie to the ice cream parlour. Charlie assumed his sadness must have been extremely serious, since it lasted all of 5 minutes, completely forgotten when Charlie said she'd pay for his ice cream (which of course led to him choosing two flavours).</p><p>They sat down on a table close by, enjoying the summer's weather. It wasn't as warm as France, but Charlie loved it nevertheless.</p><p>Perhaps, it was because of how truly magical Diagon Alley was. Sure, the witches and wizards and bursts of magical made it magical, but to Charlie it was the warm environment surrounding them, the utter chaos that made it feel so homely.</p><p>"I never did ask," Charlie said, looking at Henry, who was absently locking his ice cream cone. "How was Australia?"</p><p>Henry grinned and began talking of all the shenanigans he pulled with his friends.</p><hr/><p>That night, as Charlie prepared Pauline's bed and tried to make room for the girls' trunks, she let her mind wander to the last 2 weeks of August.</p><p>With the girls now coming, she knew she'd have more fun. Even if forced to stay home, she knew the three of them would think of anything to entertain themselves; after all, it wasn't that different from having to spend a weekend trapped on their dorm at Hogwarts, because it was raining too heavily to even dare to leave the bed.</p><p>Still, Charlie couldn't help but feel a bit sadden with the prosper, especially since it meant she couldn't go see Rory more. Sure, he himself wouldn't stay in the country for long, as he would go visit his mum in Cork soon, but after spending the last month with him, it almost felt like Charlie was cutting off a limb of hers.</p><p>"You're still making that bed?" She jumped and turned around. Henry, already in his pyjama, strolled in, as if he were in his own room. "I'm pretty sure Pauline won't care that much which cover you give her."</p><p>Charlie scowled, "Have you packed yet?"</p><p>"Are you that desperate to get rid of me?" He asked, "Yes, don't worry, I won't bother you much tomorrow. But don't you dare waking me early. Mum is picking me up around lunch time and that's the exact time I plan on waking up."</p><p>"What a shocker."</p><p>Henry grunted, grabbing one of Charlie's books and flipping it as he carelessly threw himself on her bed.</p><p>Charlie crawled closer to him and laid her head on his leg.</p><p>The two stayed like that for a while, but Charlie felt herself get impatient. The more time she spent like this, the more she kept thinking of tomorrow. She needed a distraction, and fast.</p><p>"Hey, want to go do a marathon downstairs?"</p><p>Henry grunted.</p><p>"I have 'Diamonds are forever'..." Charlie said, in a sing-song tone.</p><p>Henry took a moment to consider, and eventually agreed.</p><p>"What other Bond movies do you have?"</p><p>"All of them- my dad likes to make fun of them."</p><p>Henry considered this.</p><p>"Seems fun. I'm sure we can see them all tonight."</p><hr/><p>Charlie woke up startled with the ringing of the doorbell. Looking at her clock, it was close to 11am.</p><p>Charlie should have known she had rotten luck most of the time. On the one day it most mattered, she fell asleep. Though, the fault wasn't just hers- Henry had only called it quits at the 5th Bond movie, at around 4am.</p><p>She cursed, and quickly left her bed before Luana would push Pauline to the side and take over the doorbell assignment. The last thing Charlie needed was waking up the rest of the house.</p><p>She basically flew down the stairs, and threw the door open, breathing heavily. There, stood a surprised Pauline, her hand hovering the doorbell.</p><p>"My, all that just to see us?" She grinned, and hugged Charlie. Charlie smiled and hugged her back.</p><p>"OI!" The two turned to look at Luana, who seemed to be struggling a bit with both girls' trunks. "A bit of help?"</p><p>Charlie ran to hug Luana, who looked chipper than Charlie had thought she did. Still, there was a bittersweet look to her, but Charlie decided not to think of it much.</p><p>Quickly, she paid the cab and helped Luana carry the trunks inside. She told the girls not to make a lot of noise as to not wake up Anne (keeping to herself that Henry was here for now.)</p><p>The three quickly arrived at Charlie's room. Both Pauline and Luana made themselves at home, taking their shoes and jumping in Charlie's bed. Charlie quickly grabbed her stash of muggle candy and went to the bed as well.</p><p>"So," She started, "How did you two handle this month without me?"</p><p>Luana was the first to reply, quickly grabbing a mars bar. "Weird. Did anyone from beauxbâtons write to you guys?"</p><p>Both girls, nodded. "Yeah."</p><p>"Oh, good, for a second I thought it was just me."</p><p>"Who wrote to you?" Pauline asked, while gazing the candies.</p><p>"Well, Agnes for one, with all the new gossip. And Rui, but I hardly believe he wrote you lot. He was going to come to my area in August and asked me if I knew any cool places to go." Luana said, pausing to munch on the mars bar. "So, I spent most of this summer, showing him around. It was kind off odd- we never talked much before in Beauxbâtons, but he isn't that bad of company." She snickered. "It was fun to show some rich capital boy around. All the girls in the village begged me to introduce him."</p><p>"It was nice reuniting with everyone. I forgot how funny Agnes could be." Charlie mused.</p><p>"Truly. Did she told you guys that Louis made one of the schools quidditch teams?" Pauline asked.</p><p>"No," Luana started, "But I knew, Louis told me himself in his letter. Didn't he tell you guys?"</p><p>Charlie and Pauline shared a look. Louis Dubois hadn't written to them, but apparently had to Luana. Still, Charlie discreetly bumped Pauline and went along.</p><p>"Oh no, must have slipped his mind."</p><p>Luana snorted "How? Bloke's so crazy about it, felt like I was talking to your cousin."</p><p>"Oh!" Pauline said, "Talking of, how is your cousin? I wanted to thank him for all the candy- came really in handy with bribing my younger cousins to behave."</p><p>"Well, he went to Australia, for the quidditch world cup, and ended up staying there for way longer. He's actually sleeping here today-" Charlie suddenly stopped, cursing herself.</p><p>Luana sprung up, turning slowly to Charlie. The enormous grin of her face did not tranquil Charlie at all.</p><p>"Oh, is he now?"</p><p>"Lu-"</p><p>"And he's still asleep?"</p><p>"Lu please-"</p><p>"And your parents aren't home?"</p><p>"I beg of you-"</p><p>But Luana didn't seem to be hear. She quickly got up.</p><p>"Where do you keep your bucket?"</p><p>"My what?" Charlie asked</p><p>Luana quickly left the room and Charlie and Pauline followed.</p><p>From moving so fast, Luana was surprisingly incredibly quiet as she flew down the stairs. A few moment later she came back, with an empty pot.</p><p>"Luana, you are not allowed to wake him up by banging that, do you hear me?" Charlie said, trying her strictest tone.</p><p>Luana grinned. "Loud and clear."</p><p>As she passed them, Charlie and Pauline shared a confused look, that is until they heard the tap in the bathroom run. Both their eyes widened at the same time.</p><p>"And you're not allowed to-" But Luana had already arrived at the door of the guest room, quietly cackling.</p><p>She paused there, just to wink at Charlie, who was rooted in place, and opened the door quietly.</p><p>Charlie went to see, hoping Henry didn't murder them or worse- wake up Anne with his yells.</p><p>Inside Luana was slowly inching closer to the bed, pausing slightly to shift her grip on the pot.</p><p>"GOOD MORNING!" She yelled and threw the water over Henry's sleeping body.</p><p>Henry, who woke up startled with the shout, shrieked, and jumped when the cold water hit him. He struggled to leave the drenched sheets as he quickly mumbled.</p><p>Finally out of the bed, he turned to look at Luana (Thankfully, missing for now Charlie and Pauline at the door), his eyes so wide it was comical, and breathing heavily.</p><p>Charlie didn't need to see her, to know Luana had a grin on her face.</p><p>"What is <em>WRONG</em> WITH YOU?!" Henry started, yelling by the end.</p><p>Luana tsked, setting the pot at the bedside table. "I see you're not a morning person. Couldn't even managed a hello to greet me? You haven't seen me in two months!" She mocked.</p><p>Henry kept his cool, which surprised Charlie, and simply narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he smiled.</p><p>"I'm more of a hugger."</p><p>Everyone was quiet for a second, and then, as a lighting bolt, Henry pounced over the bed. Luana shrieked and tried to run, but Charlie and Pauline blocked the exit- not that Luana made it that far, as Henry quickly grabbed her by the waist and lifted her from the ground.</p><p>"No, please!- Ugh you're all wet!" She complained.</p><p>"And whose fault is that?" He said.</p><p>Henry jumped in the soaked bed and pretended to get comfortable as Luana shrieked and cried.</p><p>"I hate you." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Henry turned to look at her, which had to be tough since he was still holding her in place next to him tightly, and grinned.</p><p>"Now, is that any way to greet me? You haven't seen me in 2 months!"</p><p>Pauline and Charlie snickered.</p><p>"So, Luana and Pauline are here." Charlie said, as she sat on one of the still dry parts of the bed.</p><p>"I've noticed." He said, He looked at Pauline. "Hey Pauline, how are you?"</p><p>"Quite well, thank you, and you?" She replied sitting on the dry part of the bed as well.</p><p>"Oh, can't complain." He mused as Luana squirmed to free herself from his grasp.</p><p>"How long must I suffer?" She eventually said.</p><p>"Until you're thoroughly drenched." Henry answered.</p><p>Luana grumbled but accepted her deserved fate.</p><p>"So," He asked once again, "How was your summers?"</p><p>And so, Luana finished telling hers. Apparently, her mother and taken her and her brother to see their favourite football team, all the way in Lisbon. ("You would love them Henry, they wear almost as much red as you Gryffindors.") Pauline mentioned how The Cadieux had thrown a party as well that she had to attend, that she went to Belgium see one of her cousins with her parents and how much she liked Paris ( "They have such funny fashions, I'd love to live there one day." ).</p><p>In return, Henry told them a summary of what he did in Australia. Charlie thought odd that he omitted some details he had no problem in telling her, like when he and his mates all tried some curry from a restaurant and ended up in the toilet all day, or when he tried to pick up Australian girls and ended up with fake addresses to write to.</p><p>Henry was in the middle of telling them of the World Cup final, when he was interrupted by Luana's soft snores.</p><p>Henry turned to look at her, undignified that she somehow managed to fall asleep during his ever so interesting rant on all the different gloves worn by the players.</p><p>He slowly let her go and slapped her stomach. Luana woke up with a groan.</p><p>"Do you want me to fart in this bed?" She asked.</p><p>" <em>How </em><em>can you sleep? You're drenched! And so is the bed!" He asked.</em></p><p>
  <em>Luana sniffed, turning her nose in the air. "Life finds a way." She simply said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She yawned and stretched, her hand going to Henry's face, who tried to swat her away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, I'm awake now, so how about some breakfast? Henry can make it while he continues his rant over the brooms."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Actually, he finished that one, now he's talking about the gloves." Charlie quipped.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Luana groaned loudly.</em>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"I wonder who's the new DADA teacher will be." Charlie heard Pauline say.</p><p>"Let's hope he's up to your standards, would hate to see the poor thing to be fired in such a way again." Luana, and Charlie didn't even need to turn to know she was smirking.</p><p>Pauline sighed. "Will you ever let me live it down?"</p><p>"Are you kidding me? It's been months, meaning I can finally say it without you feeling guilt."</p><p>"That's not how feelings work. They don't have expiration dates."</p><p>"But my mouth does, and the expiration date to <em>not </em>make fun of this is over. Sorry, Line, I don't make the rules." Luana shrugged.</p><p>The three girls fell into silence. Normally, Charlie would have hated to have to stay home the whole day. However, today the city seemed to have been hit with the biggest heat wave in what felt like years to Charlie.</p><p>The only one that didn't seem that affected was Luana, who claims it almost felt like autumn temperatures to her. Charlie had to hide a smirk when Pauline rolled her eyes. It was so like Luana to exaggerate and pretend the heat didn't bother her not even a bit.</p><p>"Can't believe you two are okay with being in bed all day." Luana grumbled after a while.</p><p>"It's hot, I don't want to move."</p><p>"Well, isn't there a public pool somewhere around?"</p><p>Charlie snorted, "Even if I said yes, we can't leave the house by ourselves, remember?"</p><p>"Bullshit, if you ask me. Why you agreed it's beyond me."</p><p>"Because I wanted to go to France?"</p><p>Luana huffed, which was as close as her admitting defeat as it would get.</p><p>"Well, then call Henry, tell him to get up. Your parents let us go with him, right?"</p><p>Charlie hummed, "They do, but today he won't come, even if I pay him. It's Aunt Beatrice's day off, they like to spend it together."</p><p>"How about tomorrow then? But not to the pool- swimming with so many people in a small space is horrible- but we could do something. Like going to Diagon Alley!"</p><p>"Or annoy the locals by speaking to them in a language they don't know!"</p><p>"Both fine options, girls. But which one? I hardly believe we can hold Henry's attention's span for a whole day."</p><p>Luana and Pauline shared a look.</p><p>"Why not both?" Luana said. "You know he'll approve my idea- annoying people is his speciality after all- and we can always blackmail him with something quidditch related so we can go to Diagon Alley."</p><p><em>"</em>Or some ice cream!" Pauline quipped, quickly getting excited.</p><p><em>"</em>Well," Charlie started, "He did eye this dragon leather gloves- but they're around 70 galleons."</p><p>Luana and Pauline shared a look, and Luana nodded, as if they reached an understanding.</p><p>"Ice cream it is!"</p><hr/><p> </p><p>"For God's sake, Charlie hurry up!" Charlie heard Luana yell.</p><p>Charlie rolled her eyes. If Luana herself hadn't taken forever showering, Charlie would have been ready by now<em>.</em></p><p>She quickly grabbed her dark green t-shirt and put it on. She had to dive into the pile of clothes in her chair to find her shorts.</p><p>She turned to her vanity, to put her pearl earrings. As she looked at her right ear, her gaze flickered to her bed, where her cream skirt laid.</p><p>She remembered how she had worn it in France, with the earrings she had just put on. Normally, she'd just glaze over the skirt, but something about today- a day surrounded by her best friends in the world, just having fun- made her turn around and replace her shorts and put the skirt on.</p><p>"Charlie!" She heard Luana yell again, and even Henry grumbling a bit.</p><p><em>"</em>I'm coming! Don't get your wand in a twist!"</p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was 3 days until Hogwarts started, and Diagon Alley truly showed the sentiment. There were families everywhere, trying to rush their school shopping. It felt as they could barely walk without hitting a father, or a whiny child, an old wizard or even an owl.</p><p>Somehow, Charlie felt a rush of warmth at the utter confusion. It was such a stark difference from the quiet and peaceful ambient of her home. In her mind, she figured this is what a family truly was: a house always full and chaotic, filled with happiness and messes.</p><p>She also had a feeling that the company around her had something to do with the homely feel she was feeling.</p><p>Somehow, Henry hadn't disappeared yet. Instead, he held Anne by her waist, so she could pet the owls in the high cages outside the Eeylops Owl Emporium. Anne would giggle every time an owl would try to affectionately peck her.</p><p>From Charlie's side, Pauline and Luana discussed ice cream flavours, and which flavours Henry and Anne would like best. In the end, they decided to get cookie for both of them.</p><p>Luana called them over and handed them their ice creams. The five of them strolled down the Carkitt Market. At some point, as Henry told a joke, Luana tried to laugh and eat ice cream at the same time, which ended with her sucking the entire ball into her mouth, chocking her.</p><p>After they all managed to control their laughs, they started to enter the different shops.</p><p>Anne seemed memorized by the Apothecary. Henry gazed fondly at Dr Filibuster's Fireworks, Pauline marvelled at the Museum of Muggle Curiosities and they all had to drag Luana away from Sugarplum's sweets shops. Lastly, Charlie found Concordia and Plunkett Musical Instruments very amusing.</p><p class="">
  <span class="">In the end, they all sat down at The Hopping Pot and ordered a round of butterbeers (That Charlie and Pauline paid), as they all speculated about the next school year.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="">Anne seemed to think that the next DADA teacher would be a vampire, while Henry dreamed of the Quidditch Cup. Luana was trying to convince Pauline to go with her to the Forbidden Forest.</span>
</p><p>Charlie gazed at her butterbeer as she thought of what she wanted from that year. She looked around, to everyone in the table, having fun. She felt the bubble of happiness in her chest again, and decided that above all, she wanted a good year. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let's ignore the fact that it took me 2 months to update, yea?  Just wanted to say that updates, once again, are going to be slow.  I already have a big part of the next written, but just like with this one, I tend to take longer to write some of the scenes, since i'm not sure if what I have in mind will transpire like  I want it too. Also, on top of that, school and overall life has been very chaotic, and I do feel like it will stay like that until June. </p><p>For anyone who also reads Last Hope, I will also not updating for a while, since the next scene to  be written in the chapter  takes big brain time, which I lack at the moment.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome to Acheros! A series I started to write years ago but am now rewriting to be actual decent. </p><p>Updates, excluding the prologue and the first 2 chapters, are once a week, unless I get really busy.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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